Nowhere is safe forever
by Darryl2000
Summary: A story based upon the events of seasons 5 - 6. The early chapters involve Jon Snow, and is based around what could've happened had Ygritte survived the battle at Castle Black, and there is minor tweaking to the canonical storyline. Chapter 12 and beyond are my fanfiction of how I feel season 7 could have played out. (note: most of the chapters were written before season 7 aired)
1. Chapter 1: Attack on Castle Black

**_Author's note: So this is my first fanfiction about Game Of Thrones. (I probably messed up a bit so i'll figure out how to make lettering or details look better as i go on) I've always been a huge fan of the series and books, and i wanted to make a great story that seemed true to the characters involving Jon Snow, Sam Tarly, Ygritte, and others. I intend to involve it with Ygritte living through season 4 to see how she would cope with the events of season 5-6. Soooo... spoilers. (i'm updating as S6 of the show is airing soooo it might be a little slow)_**

 _ **I also promise to make sure this story gets finished because i really hate it when people don't finish a good story. Really bugs me when i see someone just abandoned it for months so i'll make sure to update every  
1-4 weeks. I also may bring the story a little beyond season 6 but i dunno. I'll let you read now, (as if i could force you to read this) enjoy.**_

* * *

Jon

* * *

The Wildlings had already begun their attack on Castle Black once Mance Rayder started from the front of the Wall. During the battle Jon Snow killed the Thenn, Styr with a hammer he had found from a nearby blacksmith's table. Once he wiped some blood from his face and turned around to find other Wildlings, he stopped seeing Ygritte in front of him with a bow and arrow.

Ygritte's hands were shivering a little holding the arrow toward him. It seemed like she may not be able to let go. Jon had little concern for his life, and was simply greatful he saw Ygritte again. Her red hair, her voice to tell him 'You know nothin' Jon Snow,' her holding him close and giving her kisses. Jon couldn't help himself but smile when he saw her again.

It wasnt a long smile however, once an arrow came from nowhere and hit her in her leg causing her to fall. Jon looked from where it came from and Olly had been trying to save Jon thinking she was going to kill him. Ygritte had let down her bow and arrow and Jon ran over to help her, he wasn't just going to let her die from an arrow in her leg. _The other brothers would kill her if they saw her down._ He thought to himself

"Jon" Ygritte spoke

Jon picked her up into his arms saying "Just hang on, i'll take you inside one of the rooms."

He lifted her up and helped her walk into one of the interior rooms of Castle Black. He brought her to the Maester's chambers figuring he would be willing to help him, he usually did. He opened the door and asked "Maester Aemon?" He turned around and looked toward him with blind eyes.

Ygritte asked "Wait, you brought me to a Crow's healer? Jon!"

Maester Aemon stated "I hear a voice i've never heard, Jon... who is this girl you've brought to me?"

He replied "She is a wildling... the wildling i was with north of the wall."

Maester Aemon nodded his head gently and said "Say no more, i understand whom you mean. You said she was injured?"

Jon said "She was shot... an arrow to her leg. I just want to to keep her safe in here until the battle is over"

Ygritte looked to him a little upset saying "What? You're just goin' to leave me 'ere?"

Jon frowned and said "I don't want my brothers to hurt you, and i cant stop them all if they try."

Jon helped her on to the maester's table and said "I love you Ygritte. And i wont risk losing you... but it's not like i can just run away with you now, no matter how much i want to. But i wont let them hurt you, that's a promise."

He wished he could have stayed longer, but the Wildlings were still attacking Castle Black and he needed to stop them, otherwise they'd kill him, and his friends. He turned and told the maester to lock the door behind him and left.

Once he was outside things were looking a little better than before. It seemed like the Night's watch might win the battle as there were less Wildlings than when he was previously out here. He went down the stairs and saw his sword was still in a puddle of blood, and mud. He went to go retrieve it but there was a Wildling that had caught sight of him and began approaching him, armed with a spear. Jon ran the other direction to a bunch of practice swords that were scattered on the ground and picked one up. When he turned around the Wildling was very close and went to stab him but Jon hit the spear with his sword and knocked it away to miss him.

The Wildling continued to make stabs toward him and his adrenaline was shooting through him as he dodged jabs and knocked back blows that would have surely killed him. _I cant kill him with this sword... its too weak._ The Wildling went to stab him in his face but Jon clashed it with his sword and grabbed the spear with his other hand holding it so he couldn't fight back. Jon hit the wildling in his head with the practice sword, but it only gave him a bleeding wound and wasn't enough to kill him. But it distracted him enough for Jon to rip the spear out of his grasp and hit him in the gut with it. The Wildling stumbled back and coughed, and Jon flipped the spear around and pierced it through his chest.

The Wildling spat blood from his mouth and Jon let go of the spear as the Wildling fell forward onto it, shoving it deeper into him. He then took the moment to walk over to Longclaw and pick it back up. It seemed possible the wildlings had all been killed already, and there didn't seem to be any battles going on. Jon sheathed his sword and looked to some of his brothers as some was resting from the aftermath of their own battles, and the others were in a group pointing crossbows at a Wildling.

Tormund had stumbled down some stairs, his back was full of arrows he was swinging his sword at a couple people quite weakly. Jon walked up to the group of Night's Watchmen surrounding him. Nearly every Wildling already was either dead, or dying.

"Tormund..." Jon spoke "...It's over. Let it end"

Tormund gave him an angry look saying "This is how a man ends."

He swung his sword toward a nearby watchman and he blocked it. Jon Snow realized he wasn't going to give up easily, so he grabbed a crossbow from a nearby watchman and shot an arrow into Tormund's leg. He growled and fell to his knees as Jon approached him and tried to swing his sword into Jon, but he kicked it out of his hand and forced him to surrender. Jon spoke to his brothers saying "Put him in chains" and they began taking him away doing just that.

Tormund yelled at Jon saying "I should've thrown you, off the top of the Wall boy!"

Jon quietly said sarcastic "Aye. You should've."

Jon rode the elevator back up to see how Edd was holding up fighting off the majority of the Wildlings.

It seemed that the Wildlings had stopped attacking for the night, but they would likely try again come morning. Edd seemed to have done a good job keeping of keeping everyone from climbing up the wall and nobody else died while he was in command. Jon praised Edd for his job well done and they went back down the elevator to get some rest for tomorrow's inevitable fight. Thinking of how hard it would be to drive Mance back this troubled him and also the thought of the Night's Watchmen hurting or killing Ygritte forced him to sleep inside the Maester's chamber a room away from Ygritte, but even then he couldn't sleep. Not with the threat facing them right behind the wall.

His mind turned back to Ygritte. _Would she even forgive me for forcing Mance back? Could i even? Does she forgive me for leaving her, last? Her people wanted to come south of the Wall and i'm sitting here stopping them..._ Such things made him doubt himself for what he was even fighting for.

Once the next morning had come he had gotten only two or three hours of sleep, he had lost track of time. He got up to check on Ygritte in the other room wondering how she was doing. Or if she was awake. He opened the door to the other room and saw that she was laid down on the maester's table, asleep from the fight that took place last night. _I can only keep her hidden in here for so long._ He thought. _The wounded men will eventually come in here and she'll be found. I just have to help her as much as i can when that time comes... i'll make sure she gets a comfortable cell at the very least._ It occurred to him he couldn't leave her like that. Just some Wildling prisoner he'd captured. He'd soon think of other solutions, sneaking her out of Castle Black perhaps, but right now he needed to focus on stopping Mance Rayder from killing everyone.

He went over and planted a kiss on Ygritte's forehead as she slept and left the maester's room.

When he came out, after a short while he was greeted by Sam mentioning "We held them off"

Jon loved Sam's optimism, even in the worst of situations. But there was no sunny side to this, they were all going to die and nothing could stop it.

"For one night" he said.

Sam said with some fake joy in his voice "This was a great victory"

Jon could tell he was just trying to make him happy. "Great victory?" He spoke. "Mance was testing our defenses and he almost made it through. He has more giants, he has more mammoths, he 'as a thousand times as many men... he'll hit us again tonight. Maybe we can hold them off for a day or two, but we'll never beat them." _Not unless I stop him myself_

Sam followed Jon as he was beginning to head toward the tunnel. He began wonder where they were heading and asked just so.

Jon replied "I'm going to find Mance."

Sam ran up to him worried informing him "Wh- you can't do that. No one gave you any orders."

Jon looked around the dead bodies of his brothers. Alliser as acting commander was wounded, Edd had only manned the wall because Jon let him have permission to do so, everyone was equals now. Which made him ask "Who's left to give orders?"

"He united hundreds of thousands of tribes to fight for him. Without Mance to lead them, they'll go back to fighting each other or scattering back home."

Sam asked in disbelief "So you're gonna kill him!?"

He replied "I'm going to try."

Sam tried to tell him otherwise saying "They won't let you within a hundred yards of him. And even if they do, even if you manage to kill him-"

"He'll kill me?" Jon interrupted him "If i don't go he wont just kill me, he'll kill the rest of us too."

Sam told him "They wont just kill you... They'll boil you, they'll flay you, they'll make it last days."

He stopped and turned around to look at Sam. _If he manged to break in anyway he'd just kill me then... And Ygritte..._ Thinking of Ygritte was the only reason he didn't want to go. But if he ran away he'd just be a traitor to the Night's Watch. A deserter without honor, and if the Wildlings didn't find him, the Northern houses would and they'd execute him. And they'd kill Ygritte for being a Wildling.

"You're right... It's a bad plan."

Sam nodded hoping he had convinced him not to go

But then he asked "What's your plan?"

Sam stood there as he couldn't think of a way to stop them. Even though there was no other way, he didn't wan't this to be the plan. Jon then turned and continued to go to the Wall's tunnel and Sam followed after him.

On their way down the tunnel there was Mag The Giant's body as well as plenty of other dead Night's watchmen around him. Everyone had died and Grenn's corpse was among the bodies too. Jon bent down looking at him and Sam got a frown on his face.

"They held the gate" There was a long pause as Jon said this. He moved his hand to close Grenn's eyes and said "Get some brothers down here to help you... We need to burn the bodies."

Sam nodded to him as he stood back up and continued to the gate

Jon looked to Sam as they walked and said "I saw Ygritte here at Castle Black... the one i..."

Sam asked "She didn't try to..." His sentenced trailed off intending to ask if she tried to kill him

He replied "She tried, but i don't think she could do it. She got shot with an arrow and i took her to the maester's chambers."

Sam said with a little joy "Well at least she's alive"

Jon said "But she wont be if the Night's Watch intends to execute her after i do this... Sam, if they intend to kill her, i want you to get her out of Castle Black and let her go anywhere."

Sam said a little worried "But, Jon. That'd make me a traitor to the Night's Watch."

Jon spoke "Please, Sam. If i die i can't be the one to do it myself. Just let her out and she can do the rest, you can pretend you were asleep when she escaped."

Sam said with a little worry in his voice "I... I'll try"

He and Sam stopped at the gate and Jon told him "Raise the outer gate. And lower it again as soon as i'm out." Sam looked back down the tunnel and waved the torch indicating he was ready for someone to open it. He turned back to see Jon taking off his scabbard which made him curious. "What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I promised Mormont i'd never lose it again." He gave him the sword in its scabbard. "In case i don't come back..." The gate began to open.

Sam said with a little worry in his voice. "Jon?" He turned to him wondering what it was. Sam said with quiet words "...Come back" Jon smiled at his friend then turned back to the gate and took a deep breath before walking out.

* * *

Davos

* * *

The journey north of the Wall seemed to have fared better than expected. The horses were definitely making quick time as expected. Davos still had doubts within his head about helping the Night's Watch, especially considering the red woman suggested coming here in the first place. But aiding the Night's Watch did have its benefits when it came to Stannis's reputation, and would definitely gain more supporters from the northern houses. He began thinking about Mance Rayder's numbers in his army, questioning if they had the man power to beat him... however his line of thought was interrupted when Stannis rode next to him and grabbed his attention.

Stannis told him "I expect you to be at my side when we ride in to kill those Wildlings."

Davos replied saying "Of course your grace, and also may i ask where the lady Melisandre is?"

"She is riding in the middle of our army. She says her presence near the battlefield could help turn it in our favor"

"And what do you think, your grace?"

Stannis gritted his teeth and said "She's in the middle of our army, she'll have the best protection."

That wasn't really what he was implying, but he accepted the answer anyway. He then said "I heard she was talking about the real war being up here, behind the wall"

"She was. She said that the dead roam the lands beyond the wall up here, and that i will have to stop them soon because the long night will return."

"Well, i don't much believe in the supernatural. But i do think this could get us some northern supporters. The Umbers perhaps."

Stannis frowned and said "Perhaps, but i would not bet on it."

After a little while of riding Stannis told his men "Hold here. We'll set up camp and prepare for the attack. I want scouts to keep going and look over their army"

Men began dismounting their horses and so did Davos. After a while they had set up camp in the night, the scouts had already been sent forward and Stannis was looking over a battlefield map for Castle Black and its wall. After some hours had passed the scouts had arrived back with details regarding the Wildling camp and where Mance Rayder was. It seemed he had made his camp within a nearby forest, and it wasn't all that defended. They suggested Mance doesnt expect a full frontal attack. The scouts drew on the map where his camp was and Stannis began forging the plan. They would send a group north to cut him off and a group east and southern close to the wall.

The scouts also reported that Mance had already attacked the wall during the night as they scouted it all out. Stannis ordered waiting until sunrise to attack, and everyone agreed. Davos went to his tent that was setup during the night and slept.

One sunrise had come he had started hearing people moving around and horses making noise. He got up from his bedroll and went out of the tent to see what was happening. It appeared plenty of soliders were ready to leave. Stannis was looking over everyone and Davos moved over to his horse and untied it from a pole in the ground. The pole was kept so the horse would not try to run away in the night. Once he loosened the rope off, he climbed on his horse and rode up next to Stannis. The army rode forward quickly to move on Mance. He could see smoke coming from a burned down forest, he wondered which side caused it. The Night's Watch, or Mance. It hardly mattered though, as they had ridden closer, the army was already prepared and in position.

There was a loud horn that came from within the camp as the army began their approach, surrounding the camp of Wildlings. As the army approached it slowly grew being more chaotic, as Wildlings ran all different directions and dying quickly. But Davos stayed close to Stannis as he had promised. When one got close he drew his sword and slammed away the Wildling's blade and stabbed him through his face. He dropped his weapon and fell off the sword which stabbed him and died in the snow. He didn't much enjoy the sight of war, he only cared for Stannis to win it. He rode up with Stannis to the center of the camp and Mance was standing there with a group of Wildlings... unmoving.

Stannis and Davos climbed off their horses in unison. As Stannis began walking toward Mance he followed behind him, and one Wildling began charging toward them with an axe at the ready, only to be cut down by a soldier passing through on horseback. As Mance saw this he pulled out two daggers and threw them to the ground. This put his mind at ease so he sheathed his sword and began watching Stannis. There was a man of the Night's Watch right beside him but he knew it wasn't his time to speak, so he let Stannis start his conversation with Mance.

Stannis had a small smile on his face and asked "So you're the king beyond the Wall?"

Mance Rayder nodded, although his scouts from earlier had already confirmed that.

Stannis kept his face more neutral now and asked "You know who i am?"

"Never had the pleasure."

Davos interjected informing him "This is Stannis Baratheon the one true king of the seven kingdoms."

Mance replied "Were not in the seven kingdoms, and you're not dressed for this weather."

Stannis paused and said "It is customary to kneel when surrendering to a king."

The Night's Watchman turned to Mance and seemingly wondering what he would say. Davos noticed this and it only made him more curious as to why he was here, he'd have expected him to be executed.

"We do not kneel." Mance said a little too proud for Davos's liking.

"I'll have thousands of your men in chains by nightfall. Nowhere to put them, nothing to feed them. Were not here to slaughter beat dogs. Their fate depends on their king."

"All the same. We do not kneel."

Davos knew the Wildlings could be stubborn, but he began to wonder if he even cared for the lives of his comrades, his people, his families. Had Stannis offered him the same offer he'd have taken it. Not in regard for his own life, but for the well being of others.

Stannis turned to his soldiers and said "Take these men away."

Davos quickly asked before they could do anything else "What's a man of the Night's Watch doing in a Wildling camp?"

He spoke saying "I was sent to discuss terms with the king beyond the Wall"

Davos informed him saying "You're speaking to the one true king, boy." referring to Stannis

He replied saying "I know he's the king... My father died for him."

This made Davos curious if his father was one of their soldiers.

He told Stannis "My name is Jon Snow, your grace... i'm Ned Stark's son."

This made the both of them pause.

"Your father was an honorable man."

"He was, your grace."

"What do you think he'd have done with him?" Stannis looked to Mance.

Jon stepped forward and told him "I was this man's prisoner once. He could've beat me, he could've tortured me. But he spared my life... i think my father would have taken him prisoner, listened to what he had to say."

"Very well then, take him."

Some of Stannis's soldiers moved over and grabbed Mance. As Stannis turned about to leave, Jon said "Your grace..."

Stannis turned back and looked at him.

"If my father had seen the things i've seen, he'd also tell you to burn the dead before nightfall... all of them.

If Davos wasn't sure about the dead rising from the ground, he was now. And it only worried him more. Stannis started walking away and Jon was about to go back to Castle Black.

Davos stopped him and asked "Jon Snow..." Jon looked to him with a weak questioning stare

"You said 'if your father had seen the things you've seen...' what did you see?"

Jon looked at him serious and said "Not too long after arriving at Castle Black... we brought back some bodies. We didn't burn them..."

"What happened?"

"The dead aren't dead... when i went to the lord commander's room... the body we brought back tried to kill us both."

Davos was having trouble wrapping his head around what he was hearing. Jon had no reason to lie, but he thought the Wights were killed off a thousand years ago.

"You mean... the White Walkers?"

Jon frowned saying "I dont know... but the wights came back."

"Could it have just been the wights? Have you seen one?"

He closed his eyes saying "At Craster's keep, i don't know what i saw. But i saw Craster take his baby boy... and leave it out in the snow. When i went to go help it... something took it. And it was no person i know that. But the wights don't take babies."


	2. Chapter 2: A Wildling army

**_Author's note: I should probably tell everyone that 1 to 4 weeks of writing time was a bit too much time for me. It was just my first story and i didn't know whether or not it would work out. My more realistic time frame would probably 3 days to 2 weeks. So thanks to everyone who decided to follow this story, hope you like it. No reviews necessary. (although appreciated) Enjoy chapter 2_**

* * *

Jon

* * *

 _Grenn. Pyp. Other brothers i never even knew their names... just faces from the mess hall. People who would laugh and sing together. So many of them gone, and Mace Rayder didn't even get what he wanted. It was all for naught. They died protecting_ _the Wall from people who just didn't want to die to the wights, and the cold... 'i am the shield that guards the realms of men.' If they aren't men, than what are we to have stopped_ _them?_

Thinking these things only made him feel worse for the dead they had lost.

It was a somber afternoon after the battle was over. Aemon walked down from the stairs once he was done with the funeral speech. Sam took a torch and lit some of the bodies on their pyres. Then he came over to Jon. He took the torch with a heavy heart and went from pyre to pyre setting them alight. He gave the torch back to Sam after he was done and looked over the bodies as they burned. Stannis was watching from atop a balcony of the buildings, and Davos stood next to him. As Jon looked through the flames, Melisandre was staring at him straight through them. He gave a strange look to her but she was staring intensely at him. Jon just kept a frown on his face and moved on.

After the burning was over, he went to the maester's chambers to check on Ygritte. When he went in he saw the maester, but not Ygritte. That got his heart beating.

"Maester Aemon, where's Ygritte?"

"I was unable to keep her here forever. Eventually the Night's Watch came and put her in chains like they did the other wildling"

A deep sigh escaped him when he heard she was alright.

"I'm going to go check on her."

Before he could leave, Aemon gently put his hand on his arm and said "Jon Snow... I don't need to remind you of your vows to the Night's Watch. But you know the consequences for an oathbreaker, Jon. And i pray you wont have to suffer them."

"I know Aemon. I wont do anything against them, i just need to see her."

"I trust you will do whatever's right." the maester let go of him.

Jon turned and left his room. _Relationships are forbidden... but Ygritte. To never be with her..._ Jon wasn't sure if he had the strength to leave her for good. Either way, he went to the storage rooms where the prisoners were being kept in chains for the time being. There were separate rooms for them so they were less likely to help each other escape. He went inside the one with Ygritte and shut the door behind him. She was sitting down on a crate like it was a chair, she didn't look very happy being stuck in the room like a common prisoner. "Ygritte..." he spoke.

Ygritte looked up to him but kept a frown and looked back down. He stepped over to talk to her, but telling her what happened to Mance Rayder was hard for him. He forced the words out of his mouth.

"The battle is over... Stannis came and helped us..."

"I asked you before, Jon Snow. 'Why are you fighting us?' And you understood, 'n yet you came back, 'n you're still fighting us."

It hurt him hearing her talk like that. But it was the only thing he could do to survive, Mance never would have accepted him back, and its not like he'd have just let his brothers die either.

"I would've helped you back 't that town. I would've killed the free folk so that we could be together, but you ran off back to your fuckin' crows. You were always one of them... was our love even real? Or was it one 'a your little tricks to gain Mance's trust."

"No, falling in love with you wasn't just to gain Mance's trust. I betrayed you, and i feel horrible for doing so... but i loved you, Ygritte. I still do, i wouldn't have brought you to the maester if i didn't."

"Instead you decided to keep me in here. A prisoner for your liking, you stopped everyone from coming south of the wall just so they could be safe... why couldn't you have just let him through?" Her eyes were watering up like she might cry.

"Even if i had, Stannis arrived here at Castle Black and killed many of the free folk, he would've done it if they were south of the wall too. And he would've killed me for being traitor to the Night's Watch."

A few tears were sliding down her cheeks as she told him "I was a fool for thinkin' you loved me, i thought i could change you, make you see why we wanted south. Mance was doing the right thing."

Jon was choking up. He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to tell her how much he loved her. But it wouldn't have made her think any different, it wouldn't have made her love him again. He thought there might be no coming back this time, but he would at least _try_ to do right by her.

"You're right..." his words made her lift her head up and look at him.

"I was wrong. The Night's Watch was wrong. Stannis Baratheon was wrong. I don't know if you can ever forgive me for what i did to you. Or for what we all did to your people. All i can tell you is i promise to make things right, again. Your people don't deserve what's happening to them, and i'll do my best to make things better. I know you might not forgive me for it... maybe never, but for my love for you, and for the sake of the free folk. I'll get them south or die trying."

He bent down to his knee facing her level. She looked torn between two things, like she couldn't even trust him. But she also looked like she wanted to. That was the impression Jon got at least. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. She felt like she was going to fight back, but didn't do so.

"I'll do what's right for you... i'll bring your people back, i'll get you out of these chains, and even then it might not be enough. But i'm sorry... so, so sorry."

He was about to let go but she grabbed him and said "Just... hold me, Jon..." she spoke quietly, as if she might want to cry again, but he just stayed there holding her in his arms.

* * *

Davos

* * *

Davos and Stannis were looking off the top of the Wall, it seemed quite a ways down and you could see for miles. It was quite a cold and cloudy day, and the snow was kicking up a bit. But it didn't look like a blizzard was on the horizon anytime soon. He took comfort in such things. "Jon Snow..."

Davos looked at him strangely when he said that. "Your grace?"

"He was the bastard born son of Ned Stark."

"He was, your grace."

"Robb Stark legitimized him as his heir if he did not produce a son, that would make him a Stark."

He looked curiously at him "But he is a man of the Night's Watch, what did you have in mind?"

"I am the rightful king. I could free him of his oath and bring him with me to Winterfell once we take it over. Afterward, he would serve as Lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North."

He was caught off guard by him, he didn't expect him to have come up with such a plan. "I suppose that could work your grace. But do you think he'll accept?"

"He ought to... bring him to me at the earliest convenience"

"Of course, your grace."

He left Stannis and was about to go get her, when Melisandre came up to him.

"M'lady?"

"Allow me to get him, Ser Davos. The lord of light works through me, I will show him."

Davos always questioned how she was able to know the things she did, but he allowed her to anyway. It was less walking for him. He went back to the edge of the wall and told Stannis he was coming. Then they waited. After a while Melisandre came back with Jon Snow. She announced "Your grace, the bastard of Winterfell." He kneeled before Stannis. Stannis moved his hand giving him permission to stand up.

He asked him "You know who rules Winterfell now?"

"Roose Bolton." He replied

"Mm, traitor who plunged a dagger into Robb Stark's heart. Don't you want to avenge him?"

"I want a great many things, your grace. But I'm a sworn brother of the Night's Watch now."

Davos stated "I've been talking to your sworn brothers. Many of them love you."

"They're good men"

"And you dont?" He asked. "Some of them said they saw you going to talk to a Wildling girl. Why?"

"I wanted to hear her thoughts. Listen to why they wanted south so badly."

"Some of the Night's Watch say you have too much affection for the Wildlings." He told him

"They were born on the wrong side of the wall. 'Doesn't make them monsters."

"No matter." Stannis interjected "I shall take back the North from the thieves who stole it. Tywin Lannister is dead, he cant protect them now. I will mount Roose Bolton's head, on a spike. But if I'm to take Winterfell I'll need more men."

Jon replied "The Night's Watch are sworn to take no part in-"

"I'm not talking about the damn Night's Watch. I'm talking about the Wildlings."

Davos hadn't even realized he had come up with that, so it was quite a shock to hear. He began walking away from the edge of the Wall and Davos followed him.

"Your grace, you want the Wildlings to fight in your army!?"

"'They swear to follow me, I'll pardon them. We'll take Winterfell 'n once the North is won I'll declare them citizens of the realm. I'll give them land to live on."

"It's a fair, offer. More than fair." Davos stated.

"I'll offer them their lives and their freedom. If Mance kneels before me and swears his loyalty."

"I don't think that's likely." He stated.

Stannis smirked and continued walking further down the wall, Davos and Melisandre continued to follow him.

"You admire him, dont you?" Stannis asked him.

"I respect him."

"He likes you. Convince him to bend the knee-"

"Your, grace-" Jon tried to speak

"Or he burns."

Jon seemed to pause, as if caught off guard.

"How much time do I have?"

"Nightfall. The sun drops fast this time of year, hurry Jon Snow."

Stannis was walking away and Davos followed him.

"You think he will kneel?"

Stannis replied "If anyone can make him bend the knee, it's Jon Snow. If he can't make him do it then he never will."

"And if he doesn't? What then?"

"There are other ways than just making the Wildlings fight for us."

"You have other plans for Jon Snow?"

"Some... We'll see what happens."

* * *

Jon

* * *

Convincing Mance to join Stannis would be tough... more than tough. The free folk to him were stubborn, but Mance could be even more so. He rode the elevator down from atop the Wall and got off. He thought of the way he convinced all his clans to join together. _'I told them that they were all gonna die, and that's the truth'_ His people would be executed by Stannis Baratheon if Mance did not kneel to him and swear loyalty. He went to Mance's holding room and knocked on the door before entering.

After a couple moments Mance said "So here we are."

"Here we are." He repeated back.

"Last time we met, you were my prisoner. And now, for our last meeting..."

"This doesn't have to be our last meeting."

"No, but it will be." It seemed he may have already known the offer Stannis made.

"You know what Stannis wants?" He asked Mance.

"He wants me to bend the knee. And he wants the free folk to fight for him. I'll give him this much, he's bold."

"Shouldn't a king be bold?" He questioned him.

"Oh, aye. If he gets what he wants I expect he'll be a better ruler than the last fools sitting on the iron throne in the last hundred years... but I'll never serve him."

Jon knew this would be difficult to convince him, it seemed he had little regard for his life at the moment.

"You told me your people had bled enough."

"That's right. I don't want them bleedin' for Stannis Baratheon either."

 _And if they don't, they'll all be killed and never bleed again._

"You spent your entire life convincing ninety clans to come together for the first time in history. The Thenns and hornfoots, the Ice River clans, even the giants. A life's work uniting them... you didn't do it for power, you didn't do it for glory, you brought them together to save them because none of them will survive the winter north of the Wall. Isn't their survival more important than your pride?"

"...Pride? This isn't about that." He stood up and moved to a different area of his holding room.

"Then bend the knee, and save your people!"

Mance leaned up against a wooden support beam holding the roof up above them and looked at him

"They follow me because the respected me, because they believed in me. The moment I kneel before a southern king, that's all gone."

Jon grew more aggravated, and it could be seen in his stance and heard in his tone.

"How many tens of thousands are out there right now? How many women? How many children? And you wont go out there and rescue them because why...? You're afraid of looking afraid."

"Oh, I am afraid. No shame in that." He moved and sat back down.

Jon lowered his head, there was nothing he could do. Nothing to convince him.

"How will they do it? Beheading? Hanging?"

He paused a moment before telling him

"They'll burn you alive..."

He looked afraid, he wasn't lying when he said there was no shame in it, and he didn't try to hide it.

"Bad way to go..." Mance commented.

"...I'll be honest with you, I don't want to die. And burnt to death? I don't want people to remember me like that. Scorched, and screaming, but it's better than betraying everything I believe."

He stepped forward toward Mance and asked "And what happens to your people? You preserve your dignity, and die standing. They'll sing songs about you... you'd rather burn, than kneel. A great hero. Until winter comes, and the White Walkers come for us all, and there's no one left to sing."

"You're a good lad, truly, you are." He told him. "But if you cant understand why I wont enlist my people in a foreigner's war, there's no point explaining."

He frowned knowing there was nothing he could do to make him. Everything he had tried just wasn't working. The White Walkers didn't matter enough, the women and children didn't matter enough, it all seemed selfish from his point of view.

He opened the door and turned back looking at him saying "I think you're making a mistake..."

He smirked and said "The freedom to make my own mistakes was all i ever wanted."

He then left the room and shut the door back, locking it. He made a deep sigh and began walking out from the hallways leading to him. He started thinking about the promise he'd made to Ygritte. _Mance wouldn't kneel no matter what... i promised Ygritte i'd help her people. It looks like i might have to do that on my own._

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

She was quite upset being locked in the cell, but whenever it bothered her she started thinking about Jon's promise. _'I'll bring your people back, i'll get you out of these chains...'_ She was still conflicted about trusting him, especially after the way he had hurt her for leaving last time. But when he held her again, told her he was sorry, she couldn't help herself but to fall into his arms. She wondered if she was just stupid to dare love him again. She stood up and went over to a window where she could see outside, however it was pretty dark.

The door to her room opened and she turned to look at who it was, it was Jon as well as two of Stannis Baratheon's soldiers. He requested they leave them be for a little while, and they did so. he came over to her, this got her curious wondering just what in the seven hells was about to go down.

"Why are you here?" She asked him.

"Stannis Baratheon told me about an offer he'd made for Mance... he told me to convince him to bend the knee and you would all be pardoned, but you would have to fight in his army."

"I'm not fighting for some southern king, all your kings are full of shit. Tell me 'e said no."

He had a frowned look and said "He said no, but I don't think you'll like the outcome..."

She tilted her head a little and asked "Wont like what?"

"He said unless Mance bent the knee... he'd burn him alive."

She was a bit taken back by that. After she knew they lost the battle she figured Mance would be executed... but burning him alive was something she didn't see coming. Everyone looked up to Mance Rayder, even her. She had already accepted he was going to die, but that would almost be torture.

"That's... not good."

"Stannis wants all the free folk, to come and watch him burn."

"So you're going to come make me watch?"

"I don't _want_ to. But I came to let you know what was happening, and to take you there myself instead of Stannis's soldiers"

She sighed and said "Fine... Let's get this over with."

"I'm sorry to do this to you."

"I've heard 'sorry' a lot, now."

"I know..." He went over and unlocked her chains from the wall

"You know nothing, Jon Snow."

Even though the way she put it shouldn't have, it caused Jon to smile a little anyway. He brought her outside to where there were plenty of free folk all facing toward the pyre, waiting for Mance to be brought out. Jon lead her towards the group and stopped, holding her as they were watching and waiting for Mance. After a short amount of time Mance was brought out from the castle. Stannis, Davos, and Melisandre were all in front of the wildlings and night's watchmen as Mance was brought before them.

Stannis told him "Mance Rayder, you've been called the king beyond the Wall. Westeros only has one king. Bend the knee, I promise you mercy." He looked toward the free folk, Tormund and her, and then moved his eyes to Jon. Seeing how everyone reacted.

"Kneel and live." Stannis told him.

He paused and looked around the castle, and then told him "This was my home for many years... I wish you good fortune, in the wars to come." He said standing

Stannis kept his frown and nodded to his men, then his soldiers grabbed him and brought him up to the pyre and tied him to it. Everyone seemed to be watching, even Stannis's daughter Shireen. This was going to be hard for Ygritte to watch. Not only from knowing him, but from having to see him die in such a horrible way. Melisandre stepped forward toward the pyre and looked to everyone.

"We all must choose." She spoke. "Man or woman, young or old, lord or peasant, our choices are the same. We choose light, or we choose darkness. We choose good, or we choose evil. We choose the true god, or the false." She walked over and grabbed a torch from one of the soldiers. Mance seemed troubled watching her pass by him with it.

"Free folk, there is only one true king. And his name is Stannis. Here stands your king of lies. Behold the fate of those who choose the darkness." She then turned and began setting the pyre on fire. Ygritte wanted to kill her for the way she talked about Mance, but its not like she could.

He was shaking, making scared noises, it was obvious he was afraid of burning to death. The fire began drawing closer, and closer. As Jon was watching, he couldn't take it anymore and left her. She immediately looked to him wondering where he was going, but she lost sight of him and turned back to Mance. The flames were beginning to touch him now, he was making scared and light pain noises, but all of a sudden an arrow entered his chest. Everyone turned their head quickly to see what happened... and Jon had shot Mance.


	3. Chapter 3: Jon's promise

_**Author's note: I really love the support that this story's been getting. I didn't expect it to get so popular, but it did. Also, i wanted to let everyone know at the start here, that i have skipped a couple scenes from the show to keep things moving. Because if you wanted a book version of the show, you'd buy A Song of Ice and Fire.**_ _ **So i'm going to just keep the important scenes from the show in, and everything else that doesn't matter i'll get rid of.**_ _ **(Except the Ygritte scenes of course)**_

 _ **And i changed one thing from the show which i think you might like a little better in the end. I wont really spoil it, but everyone who watches the show will probably understand what i did, and why they'd like it a little better.**_

 _ **Thank you again for all the follows and favorites. Enjoy chapter 3**_

* * *

Samwell

* * *

Sam was worried about what had happened the previous night involving Jon after what he did to Mance Rayder. Stannis had brought him inside his room to speak in private, although no one was told what about. It worried him that he might be punished for killing Mance in mercy. But his mind was put at ease when he walked into the mess hall, seemingly unharmed. He came over and sat down by Sam.

"So? What happened in there?" He asked him.

He was pretty quiet

"He told me his word was law... and that i broke it. He told me to ask his hand, Davos, how he showed mercy to law breakers."

"But he didn't punish you did he?"

"No... i don't think he's gonna."

"Well that's good."

"That's not all..."

Sam tilted his head a little, curious as to hear about what happened.

"He asked me to serve him. To promise him my loyalty and become lord of Winterfell, naming me Jon Stark."

He smiled greatly for him "He'll make you a Stark with the stroke of a pen."

"It's the first thing i ever remember wanting... one day that my father would ask the king, and just like that i'd never be the bastard of Winterfell again."

"You deserve this, you do. I couldn't be happier for you." He hugged him.

But Jon had let go and told Sam "I'm gonna refuse him."

That caught him a little off guard, he didn't understand why he would reject such an offer. If he had been offered the same he probably would've taken it, he felt staying at Castle Black wasn't really where he belonged. Every time he fought he was likely to die, he never really was much of a fighter.

"But.. you'd be lord of Winterfell."

"I swore a vow to the Night's Watch. If i didn't take my own word seriously, what sort of lord would i be?" He sat down on the seat by the table.

He didn't want Jon to just give up like that, to refuse everything he ever wanted. But he turned around and saw Maester Aemon rise from his seat.

Aemon asked "Does anyone wish to speak for candidates... before we cast our tokens. For the nine hundred and ninety eighth Lord Commander, of the Night's Watch?"

Janos Slynt stood up and said "Ser Alliser Thorne, is not just a knight. He is a man of true nobility. He was acting commander when the Wall came under attack, and lead us to victory against the Wildlings. He's a veteran of over a hundred battles, and has been a defender of the watch, and the Wall for almost all of his life. He's the only true choice."

A bunch of people tapped their cups and gave cheery growls for him. This worried Sam, he was quite ruthless and brutal. And he would make his and Jon's lives a living hell.

One Night's Watchman stood up and said "Ser Dennis Mallister, joined the watch as a boy. And has served loyally, longer than any other ranger. Through ten winters, he served. As commander of the shell tower, he kept the Wildlings away. We could do no better." A pretty good amount of people tapped their cups and gave some cherry growls too. But not as many as Alliser got. That troubled Sam even more than before.

"If there is no one else, we will begin the voting." Aemon said. "The triangular tokens count for Ser Alliser Thorne. The square tokens for Ser Dennis Mallister. Each o-"

"Maester Aemon!" Sam spoke up. Everyone turned looking at him.

"Samwell Tarly? Go on." Aemon spoke.

"Sam the slayer, just like his friend Jon Snow." Janos said cruelly. "How's your lady love, slayer?" A couple people laughed.

"Her name is Gilly." Sam told him. "Brother Slynt knows her quite well. They cowered together in the larder during the battle for the Wall." Even more brothers started laughing at Slynt.

"Lies!" He shouted trying to defend himself.

"A Wildling girl, a baby, and lord Janos. I found him there after the battle was over in a puddle of his own making." The men laughed hardy hearing the story. Even the maester gave a smile

"Whilst Lord Janos was hiding with the women, and children. Jon Snow was leading. Ser Alliser fought bravely, it is true. And when he was wounded it was Jon who saved us. He took charge of the Wall's defenses, he killed the magnar of the Thenns, he went north to deal with Mance Rayder, knowing it almost certainly meant his own death." He paused for a moment. "Before that, he lead the mission to avenge Lord Commander Mormont. Mormont himself chose Jon to be his steward. He saw something in Jon, and now, we've all seen it too... he may be young... but he was the commander we turned to when the night was darkest."

Plenty of men cheered for Jon Snow, and some who cheered for Alliser, just cheered because his speech was so well said.

Alliser stood up and said "I uh... cant argue with that. But who does he want to command? The Night's Watch? Or the Wildlings. Everyone knows he loved a Wildling girl, that girl might even still be our prisoner. He spoke with Mance Rayder many times. What would've happened in the tent between those two old friends if Stannis's army hadn't showed up to finish him off? We all saw him put the king beyond the wall out of his misery. Do you want to choose a man who has fought the Wildlings all his life? Or a man who makes love to them."

Everyone was completely quiet then.

"It is time." Aemon announced.

Brothers all lined up and put their tokens in the urn. Sam cast his token in, obviously for Jon. And returned back to stand next to him. Once everyone had cast in their votes, Othell Yarwyck broke the urn and began putting the pieces on to little poles next to each other. Whoever's tokens on the poles rose the highest was chosen to be lord commander. Jon's had been chosen to be the circles. Mallister didn't seem to get very far, where as Jon and Alliser had been tied exactly. Yarwyck looked like he whispered to Aemon telling him it was such, and then he rose up from his seat.

He then pulled out a token to end the tie...

He placed it on Jon Snow's pole.

The men cheered loudly and began clapping for him. Sam smiled greatly and clapped for him as well. They began cheering "Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow!" As he rose from his seat. He breathed a little quickly, probably from the shock of being loved so much and chosen as lord commander. He hugged Jon and celebrated his victory.

* * *

Jon

* * *

Jon was getting used to the Lord Commander's room. Checking what letters needed to be read, and those that needed written. He appointed Olly to be his steward to help him in learning all his tasks, he had a lot to do as lord commander. He then thought of how Ygritte was still locked in the cell, now he would have the chance to do whatever he wanted to help the free folk. Of course doing so could make a lot of the Night's Watch hate him, which worried him a little. But he knew who he hated more, and the White Walkers were at the top of his list. He stood up from his seat to go check on Ygritte, but Olly heard someone coming and opened the door for them.

Stannis Baratheon and Davos walked in.

"Lord commander." Stannis said.

"Your grace." He replied.

"I'd like to speak alone." He looked at Olly.

"Olly is my steward now, as i was Lord Commander Mormont's. I'd like him to attend my meetings, and learn from men with experience. One day he might command."

Stannis looked at him strangely, but said "Very well." And sat down.

"Have you considered my offer?"

"I have, and i thank you for it, you do me a great honor. All my life i've wanted to be Jon Stark."

"Say the word, and you will be."

"But i have to refuse you. I'm lord commander of the Night's Watch, my place is here."

He clenched his jaw a little, then said "I'm giving you a chance to avenge your family... to take back the castle where you grew up... to rule the north."

Jon sighed and said "I wish i could fight beside you. Believe me, i do. But i swore a sacred vow at the Godswood. I pledged my life to the Night's Watch-"

"You're as stubborn as your father... and as honorable."

"I could imagine no higher praise."

"I didn't mean it as praise, honor got your father killed. But if your mind's made up i wont try and dissuade you."

He got up from his chair but Jon got up and said "May i ask, your grace, how long you plan to stay at Castle Black-"

"Are you bored of us already?" He asked with a hint of frustration.

"You saved us from Mance Rayder's army. We will never forget that. But the Night's Watch can't continue to feed your people and the Wildlings prisoners indefinitely, and... winter is coming."

He sighed and said "I know it... we'll march on Winterfell within the fort night before the snow traps us here."

"And the Wildlings?" He asked Stannis.

"They'd rather burn, than fight. I leave their fate to you. You could execute them, that's the safest course."

That was far from his most favorable choice. Especially involving Ygritte.

"Or you could see if this Tormund fellow is more willing to compromise than Mance ever was? I assume most of the brothers would rather see the Wildlings dead."

"Most of the brothers, yes. There's little love for the free folk here."

"You're the lord commander, your decision."

When he was about to leave, he turned back and asked "You have many enemies here, have you considered sending Alliser Thorne elsewhere? Give him command of Eastwatch by the sea."

"I heard it was best to keep your enemies close." He replied.

"Whoever said that didn't have many enemies." He then left the room.

Jon then turned back and let out a sigh thinking about his options, but Davos said "He sees something in you. Might not be apparent from his tone, but it's true, he believes in you."

"I'm sorry i disappointed him."

Davos walked over and sat on a bench facing him, then Olly shut the door.

"The king is... a complicated man. But he wants to do what's right for the seven kingdoms."

"As long as he's ruling them." He said a little harsh.

"He's the one true king. He has a blood right to that throne."

"I've sworn to stay clear of the politics of the seven kingdoms."

"Have you now?" He turned back and looked at Olly asking "How does the Night's Watch vow go again? I bet you've got it memorized since you got here."

"...Night gathers, and now my watch begins."

"No, not that bit, the bit at the end."

"...I am the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls, the shield that guards the realms of men, i pledge my life-"

"Wait, that's enough" Davos interjected.

"'The shield that guards the realms of men.' That's what you swore to be. Now, i'm not a learnerd man, but the best way to help the most people might not be sitting in a frozen castle at the edge of the world. It might just mean wailing in the muck, getting your boots dirty... and doing what needs to be done."

 _The shield the guards the realms of men._ He had thought about that for a long time, but mostly associated to the Wildlings. He wasn't ready to go south and abandon his post, not while there was still good he could do here.

"And what needs to be done?"

"As long as the Boltons rule the north, the north will suffer... just one man's opinion." He turned and left the room.

This gave him a lot to think about. Stannis's suggestion about Tormund could get the Wildlings to do things for him, bring them south of the wall maybe. And Davos's opinion about him leaving the Wall... thinking on all of it was tough, and he began wondering if he may have to do it all. The Night's Watch might not be his post forever with the White Walkers coming, and if they began to attack the Wall, he would have to call support from every single house in Westeros. He then thought about getting Ygritte out of those chains, he wanted to get her out immediately, but now didn't seem like the best time in the long run.

Alliser Thorne already accused him of being a traitor before, and bringing Ygritte out of the chains without good reason would get even more people thinking he was a traitor. The Night's Watch already knew he had been with a Wildling girl, but they never knew it was Ygritte. If he let her out, that would definitely confirm it for them. _Unless..._ he thought.

* * *

"Lord Ashford." Sam stated as he gave him a letter. He signed it and looked at him for the next one.

"Lady caufield." He signed it.

"Oh, Lord Smallwood."

"I haven't even heard of these people."

"They haven't heard of you either. But we need men, and they have some." He handed him another letter.

"And how many men does this 'Lord Mason' have to send us?" He signed it.

"More than Lord Wibbly." He said with a smile, and handed him a letter for him.

He signed it but Sam got quiet and passed him another letter. He was about to sign it when he read the name 'Lord Bolton.'

"Not him."

"I know, i'm sorry. But we need men, and supplies, and Roose Bolton's the warden of the-"

"He murdered my brother." Jon interrupted

"We swore to be the watchers on the wall, we can't watch the Wall with fifty men. And we cant get more men without help from the warden of the north."

He sat quietly for a moment and signed it, then scooted back in his chair, done writing letters whether there were more or not. Sam picked up the letters from his table and began to carry them out of the room when the red priestess walked in and he stopped in front of her.

"Apologies, my lady." He stated before leaving the room.

She moved back to shut the door after Sam had left, which made him feel a little uneasy.

"Lord commander."

"How can i help you?" He replied.

"Come with us when we ride south. None of us know the castle as well as you do. Its hidden tunnels, its weaknesses, its people. Winterfell was your home once, don't you want to chase the rats out of it?"

He already stated to Stannis he had wanted to, but he knows he cant.

"Castle Black is my home now. The Night's Watch take no part in the wars of the seven kingdoms."

"There's only one war: Life against death. Come, let me show you what you're fighting for."

He laughed a little inside his head, the thought of her flame magics tricking Stannis into thinking there was something staring back at him through the flames.

"You're gonna show me some vision in the fire? Forgive me, my lady, i don't trust in visions."

She approached him closer and leaned up against his desk.

"No visions, no magic, just life."

She undid her robes and bared her breasts toward him. He froze up a little inside, it caught him off guard immediately, not figuring she would have done that. She gently took his hand and slid it up her body, to hold them.

"Do you feel my heart beating?"

It was almost like he had lost control of himself, of anything. He nodded in response to her.

"There's power in you. You resist it, and that's your mistake... embrace it."

As he was holding her breast, his mind suddenly clicked back, realizing what he was doing. He quickly took his hand back and ignored her beauty, if there was any he could admit. She gently brushed her hand through his beard and began to sit down on his lap.

"The lord of light made us male and female... two parts of a greater whole." She began unlacing his top as she spoke.

"In our joining, there is power... power to make life... power to make like... and power to cast shadows." She whispered the words to him.

He refused to freeze up again, and forced his words out hoarsely

"I dont think Stannis would like that very much." _Ygritte even more so._ He thought to himself.

"Then we shouldn't tell them." She said seductively.

 _T...them?_ He wondered if she had heard about Ygritte.

"I cant..."

"Why?"

"I swore a vow."

Her face didn't believe that answer at all.

"I love another..."

"Any act in service of the lord of light is seen as a gift... she should see that, and she will be thankful for it..."

She reached down to his pants but he grabbed her arm and stopped her

"I know... but... i am hers, and she is mine."

She paused for a moment, and then got up and pulled her robes back covering her chest. She walked to the door and opened it, but she turned back around and looked at him.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow." She told him, and then walked out.

* * *

Jon had enough. He wasn't pushing it back any longer, he was going to get Ygritte out, and he had come up with his plan. Getting Tormund to cooperate would get the free folk back south, he could also get Ygritte out as well. He went to see the maester first in the library to confide his plan in, since he was always kind and understanding. Once he got there, he noticed Sam was reading something with him.

"Maester Aemon."

"Lord commander."

"Sam, i'd like to speak to the maester alone."

Sam quickly grabbed his papers and left them to talk. He went over to the table the maester was sitting on with Sam and took a seat.

"How are you feeling?" He asked concerned.

"Oh, like a hundred year old man slowly freezing to death." He laughed light heartedly.

He smiled back at the maester and said "I need your advice. There's been something i want to do, something i... have to do. But it will divide the Night's Watch, half the men will all hate me the moment i give the order."

"Half the men hate you already, Lord Commander. Do it!"

"...But you don't know what it-"

"That doesn't matter, you do." He put a caring hand on his face "You will find little joy in your command. But, with luck, you'll find the strength to do what needs to be done. Kill the boy, Jon snow. Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy, and let the man be born."

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

She wondered what Jon must have been doing right now, it had been quite a while since she had seen him. She was starting to think he had forgotten all about her, just decided to let her rot in the "cell." But every time she'd think that, a part of her mind kept calling her back telling her he loved her. It was like she was in conflict with herself. One half wanted to kill him for leaving her, but the other wanted to hold him close for loving her.

The door to her room opened and he had walked in, she sat facing him with a sort of harsh but strong look. As if he had come to interrogate her for something.

"I'm sorry i didn't come more often, i'm the lord commander now. The Night's Watch wanted me to command now."

"Jon... be honest with me, why're you still keeping me here? What happened to the other free folk?"

"The others are still prisoners for now, but i'm going to change that."

"When? I know you said-"

He unchained her from the hook on the wall, and then grabbed her hands gently and used a key on the shackles. She felt her hands freed from the cuffs that had bound her for so long.

"I made a promise to you, and to myself, that i would get your people south of the Wall. But i can't do it alone..." He said serious.

She was surprised he had actually kept his word.

"What about your crow brothers? What 'ave they suddenly got a change of heart too?" She said sarcastic.

"No... but i'm the lord commander now, they have to listen to me whether they want to or not."

She couldn't believe her ears.

"So... were going to bring them south."

"Yes, and i'm going to need Tormund too."

"Tormund? He's still alive?"

"I found him full of arrows, but he lived. He's in a holding room like this one."

"Hang on, what do ya plan to do with 'im?"

"I know Mance united everyone because they needed to get south of the wall, Tormund could do the same." He sounded confident in his plan.

"The free folk'd never just take his word for it. 'Oh the crows will let you through the Wall even though they've been killing you the past thousand years.'"

He sighed and said "I know... but i'm not going to just give up because they might not listen."

She sighed and said "Alright, so what do you want me to do?"

"Help me convince Tormund to aid me in bringing the free folk south."

"I will."

"Thank you..."

He turned around ready to go but she grabbed him and he turned back to face her. She brought her lips to his and kissed him, holding him tightly. He held her in return as their tongues met.

Once they pulled away, Ygritte said "I love you, Jon Snow. And don't ever leave me again."

"I wont... never again."

They shortly kissed again, and afterward Jon opened the door and lead her to Tormund's room. Once they got there, they went inside and Tormund looked at them, especially surprised by Ygritte's presence.

"Tormund..." Jon spoke.

"What the fuck is going on crow?" He asked genuinely confused.

"I just need your help."

"And why isn't she in chains? Ygritte, don't tell me you've turned on your own people."

"I'm not a crow, Tormund! He wants to help us."

"You are a fool, i thought you knew better than that. Remember what happened the last time he 'helped us'?"

"That's not what's gonna happen, this isn't last time." He spoke genuine.

He sat down next to him, and Ygritte watched seriously, trying to make him believe Jon. But Tormund just stayed quiet

"Where are the rest of the free folk?"

Tormund just sat more comfortably

"Who leads them?"

"They followed Mance, they wont follow anyone else."

He paused for a moment and asked "What about you?"

"Hard to lead when you're in chains, unless you plan to use your wildling girlfriend. That wouldn't work well for either of you."

"I'm as strong, if not stronger than you, Tormund." She spoke up.

"Won't change a thing." He replied.

"What if i unchained you?" Jon asked.

"Hmph, me too? Why would you do that?"

"Because you are not my enemy, and i'm not yours."

"You sure seemed like my enemy when you were killing my friends."

"For eight thousand years, the Night's Watch have sworn an oath to be the shield that guards the realms of men... and for eight thousand years, we've fallen short of that oath. You belong to the realms of men, all of you."

"And now everything's going to change?"

"He's letting me walk around freely, that should be enough for you to understand." She said.

"Why now?"

"Because now, i am lord commander of the Night's Watch."

"What would you have me do... lord commander?"

He stood up and said "I'll have you go north of the wall, gather the remaining free folk wherever they are, and bring them here. I'll open the gates and let them through, i'll find them lands to settle on south of the wall."

"They wont kneel for you, and neither will i."

"I don't want them to kneel for me, i want them to fight with me when the time comes."

"The day i ask my people to fight with the crows, is the day my people cut my guts from my belly and make me eat them."

"And how many of your people can't fight? The women, the children, the old, the sick, what happens to them? You're condemning them to death, worse than death, because you're too proud to make peace."

Tormund looked at them both staying quiet.

"Or maybe you're not proud... maybe you're just a coward."

Tormund stood up and looked down over him, and Ygritte took a step forward, not intending to let him get hurt.

"Easy thing to say, to a man in chains."

Jon gave him a stone cold look, he took out his key and unlocked his shackles.

"Your people need a leader, and they need to get south of the wall before it's too late. We don't have much time, and they have less. The Walkers are coming, and they'll hit your people first. I'm not asking you to make peace to save your skin, i'm asking you to make peace to save your people."

"Mance would've made a deal to spare the crows 'ad they let 'im through, the free folk need a leader like Mance, and you can be that one if we work together. I know you don't trust Jon Snow... but trust me." She added.

Tormund stood quietly considering their deal.

"Most of them are at Hardhome. You know where that is?"

She smiled having gotten Tormund to cooperate.

"Up on Storrold's point. I can get you ten horses, and nine other men, you can get there in a week." He replied.

"We'll need ships."

"I can talk to king Stannis about lending you his fleet."

"Alright then... you're coming with me."

That gave him a worried look.

"You're the lord commander of the Night's Watch, they need to hear it from you. They need to know the ships they are boarding wont be torched in the middle of the sea. You come with me, or i don't go."

That put some tension between everyone in the room.


	4. Chapter 4: To make a deal

_**Author's note: So I did take a little longer for this chapter, I was deciding on how much of the show I should copy. Obviously I don't want this to be an exact replica of the show. And I can tell it is being a little bit like that. So I'm going to take a while to decide how much I want to copy from now on. But I will still keep to the 3 days to 2 weeks time schedule. And I do want it to be Ygritte reacting to the events of seasons 5 through 6. So I will keep that going indefinitely.**_

 _ **Thank you for all the support for this story, I never thought it'd get this popular. (Especially since I'm being a bit unoriginal.) But I appreciate that all of the follows and favorites and reviews. (Props to the guy for correcting my grammar) I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story as much as I am writing it.**_

 _ **Enjoy chapter 4  
**_

* * *

Jon

* * *

The journey to Eastwatch was a calm one, there were few interruptions but it was bitter cold. It was obvious winter was coming and nothing could be done to stop it. Ygritte rode up beside him on a horse and smiled looking at him. He smiled back and soon after, Eastwatch was visible. There was a lighthouse overlooking the ocean, and a few smaller towers for guarding from Wildling ships.

"Is that a windmill?" She asked him.

He laughed and said "You're close this time."

She punched him in his arm and said "Alright, what is it then 'Lord Know-It-All?'"

"It's a lighthouse. The beacon at the top gets lit at night so ships know where the land is and don't ground themselves."

"Huh..." She studied it curiously.

Once they got closer someone yelled to open the gate, and they slowly pulled open. The group of Night's Watchmen and free folk rode inside and dismounted horses. Jon walked forward leading everyone to the dock and there was at least forty ships docked, or anchored. He knew Stannis had given him ships, but he never expected them to be so big. And the one they were about to board was the biggest, most likely a capital ship for Stannis.

"Well i'll be damned..."

He turned to Ygritte and said "You sure you want to come?"

"Aye. For them to come with you, you'll need all the help you can get. And what kind'a lover would I be 'f I let you go alone with Tormund?"

Tormund grunted and said "Let's just go. I'm freezing my fucking prick off out here, and it's only gonna get colder the further north we go."

Edd and the other Night's Watchmen just stared feeling like they didn't belong there.

Jon cleared his throat and said "Agreed, let's get going."

The group boarded the ship and went to their own cabins. Jon took off his cloak and hung it on a hangar. He then went to his desk and sat down in a chair. He thought about how hard it would be to convince the free folk to come south of the Wall, but Tormund and Ygritte's presence helped. After some time had passed, he got up from his chair and took his scabbard off, setting it down on the desk. He then moved to look out his porthole window. Things were still cold, but calm. The waters were very still and the wind blew just gently enough to get the ship moving. The sun would also set soon, as it turned the water a light orange.

He heard a knock at the door and said "Come in."

The door opened and he turned back to see who it was, and Ygritte had entered. She was wearing a thinner outfit than what he was used to, most of the time she was wearing thick furs to keep warm, but now she was in a silk gown.

"Well that's a fancy outfit for you..."

"Mhmm..." She walked up to him.

"Remember that time you said you'd like to see me in a silk dress?"

"Where did you get it?"

"I found it in one of the closets in my cabin. I imagine that king's wife must've had this when it was her room at one point, seemed kinda old though, like it hadn't been worn in a long time."

"I never thought you'd wear one..."

She looked beautiful to him. She put her hands around his shoulders and asked "And remember what you said after you wanted to see me in one?"

He nodded in response. "And then you said you'd give me a black eye if I ripped it."

"Maybe... if so, we'll just have to see 'f you can make it up to me."

She then began kissing him.

He held her in return, running his hands up and down the dress. They broke the kiss off, and she lead him toward the bed. He then took off his leathers. She fell back on to the bed and he crawled on top of her, kissing her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair as he did so, and he went further down in between her breasts. Afterward she began slipping her arms out of the gown.

"We've spent too much time fighting, it's been too long since we took some time for ourselves." She told him nearly breathless.

He pulled her gown further down until it dropped on the floor. He moved down until he got on the floor and between her legs and kept kissing. She moaned in response to him there, he never quite understood how he did so well in kissing her there, but he didn't complain. She was enjoying herself. He tried experimenting while he was there, seeing what she liked. He rubbed her thighs as he kissed her, and afterward he took his mouth away and put one of his fingers inside her. She shouted "Gods! Don't stop."

He had no plans to, but he continued putting his finger in and out a couple times. She moaned even louder as he kept doing it. He thought of putting himself inside of her, but even in their moment of bliss, his logical side came in. If he risked doing that, they could have a child. The Wall was no place to raise a child, and specifically forbid children. _One day, perhaps... but I cant risk it now._ He thought. He continued pleasing her in other ways he could. Eventually she moaned as loudly as she could. He took that as a sign he was almost done.

He kissed the top of her opening and kept sliding his fingers in and out until she moaned so loud like she couldn't take anymore. He then quit seeing as she probably had her fill. She panted heavily and he climbed into the bed and laid down next to her.

"Well hang on, what 'bout you?" She asked lightly, a bit out of breath.

"I'm fine, I'm just glad I made you happy." He did want her, but not at the risk of having a child grown up in a very hostile surrounding.

"Me? What's wrong with you feeling good?"

"I'm just... not in the mood I suppose."

She looked down between his legs and said "Your mouth says one thing, but your body says another."

He noticed he had gotten quite aroused pleasing her.

"I think it's your turn now." She said seductively.

She started to get on top of him, but he stopped her.

"No, Ygritte..."

"Alright, I'm no fool. There's somethin' up, so tell me."

"I..." He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he didn't want to lie to her either.

"What? Do you not like me or somethin'?"

"No, of course not that..."

"So what then?"

"It's just... I could get you pregnant... and a child would complicate things right now."

She stayed quiet for a moment.

"I want to someday... but the child would be a bastard, like me. It's one of the reasons i joined the Night's Watch. I wouldn't want to do that to you and our child... another Snow."

"You know nothing, Jon Snow. I understand now's not the best time. But I want to have a child, and I only want to have one with you. You're the man I love. Bastard, or not. I will love you until the day I die, and I would love our child too... no matter what. Even if it's years from now, I want it with you."

Her words moved him. Very much, so. He very rarely did cry, but this was close to being one of those moments. He pulled her closely to him and held her.

"I love you Ygritte... I always will. And I want that too."

"I love you too, Jon Snow."

* * *

Samwell

* * *

Things weren't going so good at the Wall since Jon left. People were talking among themselves about him being a traitor, and even worse about the Wildling he was with. Not to mention Aemon's health had gotten far worse. He went to the maester's chambers to check on him, and when he opened the door, Aemon was in the bed looking very ill. He went over to him and sat down on his bedside.

"M... Master Aemon?"

"Aeg... is that you?" He said wearily.

"No. It's me, Sam."

"Ahhh, Sam... could you go get Aeg for me?"

He sighed knowing he was hallucinating. It was sad to seem him like that, old and sick. The door to the room opened and Gilly walked in. She was carrying baby Sam with her.

"Hi Gilly..." He said a little sad.

"How does he look?"

"It's not good..."

She walked over and sat on the bedside opposite to him.

"Aeg... Aeg... mother's looking for you. Aeg?"

"You should get some sleep, Sam. You'll have to speak for him tomorrow." She seemed to be referring to a funeral speech.

"You don't know that... he... might get better." He didn't quite believe the answer himself.

"Get some sleep. I'll watch over him."

"I'm staying too. He's always been good to me and Jon. To all of us really... i can't leave him now."

"Aeg!" He shouted and grabbed Sam's hand. Sam immediately looked back at him.

He was breathing a little quickly, like he'd just been scared.

"Aeg... i dreamed... that i was old."

He felt bad watching him.

"Mother made us some supper... we should go inside Aeg."

"Aemon..." He said.

"Are you enjoying it Aeg? She always... always..."

His eyes started to close.

"Maester Aemon?"

His grasp started to weaken on his hand. It seemed he was dead now. He let go of Aemon's hand and rested it on his chest.

"We should go..." He told Gilly.

She picked up the baby, and Sam got off the bed. And afterward they left the maester's room together.

* * *

Jon

* * *

From the top deck of the ship, the free folk were visible on the shore. Some ships started dropping anchors and ceasing movement. He went to the dinghies and the group was all gathered up ready to get on. Tormund, Ygritte, Edd, and the other Night's Watchmen were ready. And when he approached them, Edd seemed to be shying away from looking at him. This made him wonder what he was thinking.

"Edd?"

He cleared his throat and replied "Yes, lord commander?"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong lord commander."

He wasn't so sure of his answer.

"You uh... kept me awake last night, you were making a lot of noise. I think you uh... snore."

 _Oh gods._ He thought to himself. He held back his blush as best he could, but wasn't quite sure if the others would notice it or not. Or if they had already known too. But the way he had phrased it seemed like he didn't want the other people listening to find out. Ygritte however, overheard the conversation since she was standing so close, and winked at him.

"Err, right. Apologies for keeping you awake. However, we should get on the boats and row to land with haste."

Everyone climbed on board the boat and the few men that stayed behind lowered it into the water. A couple of people were rowing the boat while he stood at the front.

"How many people you say were here?"

"Twenty thousand, maybe more." Tormund replied.

"Let's hope we didn't get these ships for nothing than."

The boat rowed closer to shore. Everyone was looking at them approaching pretty neutral on the matter. It was hard to tell whether they would try to kill them or talk. Either way, they let the boat ride up to shore and everyone started getting out.

"You trust me Jon Snow?" Tormund asked.

"Does that make me a fool?" He replied.

"Were fools together now."

The group walked forward and the free folk moved out of the way for them. And Tormund was leading everyone to the lord of bones. They walked toward him all the same and stopped face to face.

"Lord of bones... been a long time." He said.

"Hnh, last time i saw the little crow was your prisoner, the other way around now. What happened?"

"War."

"'War?' Is that what you call it? The greatest army the North has ever seen cut to pieces by some southern king."

"We should gather the others, find somewhere quiet to talk." He suggested.

"You don't give the orders here, Tormund."

"I'm not giving an order."

He looked among Tormund and Ygritte and asked "Why aren't you in chains?"

"They're not my prisoners." Jon spoke up.

"No? What are they?"

"Were allies."

That seemed to set a lot of people off, and some free folk started backing away and grabbing hilts of their weapons.

"You fucking traitors... you fight for the crows now?"

"She an' I don't fight for the crows."

"Were not here to fight, were here to talk." Jon told them.

"Is that right?" The lord of bones asked.

"You and the pretty crow to a lot of talking, Tormund." He tapped him with his club each time he spoke.

"And when you're done talking. Do you get down on your knees and suck his co-"

Tormund caught his club and ripped it out of the lord's hands, and hit him in the gut with it. It caused him to drop to his knees, and he just kept beating him... and beating him... and beating him until he smashed his face in. Some free folk looked at him like they might've tried to go help the lord, but they knew well enough of Tormund's strength. Just about everyone cringed seeing the sight of the dead man's face. He dropped the club to the ground and looked around at everyone.

He then repeated "Gather the others, and let's talk."

Afterward he began walking to a hut for them to talk in. The rest of the group followed after him.

Ygritte said "Gods be damned, Tormund. You caved 'is bloody head in." She said with a mixture of being impressed, and being critical.

Tormund grunted and the rest of the group entered the hut.

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

Everyone got inside the house and gathered around. There room was quite packed, and even Wun Wun was inside the room. She recognized some of the faces in the room, but not many. Usually Mance was the one organizing all the meetings between clans. But anyway, Jon was ready to give his speech.

He started by saying, "My name is Jon Snow. I'm lord commander of the Night's Watch. Were not friends... we've never been friends... wont become friends today. This isn't about friendship, this is about survival. This is about putting a seven hundred foot wall between you, and what's out there."

"You built that wall to keep us out" A girl said.

"Since when do the crows give to shits if we live?" A Thenn asked.

"In normal times we wouldn't, but these aren't normal times." He told them. "The White Walkers don't care whether a man's free folk, or crow. Were all the same to them. Meat for their army. But together, we can beat them."

"Beat the White Walkers? Good luck with that. Run from them, maybe."

Jon took off his satchel, then approached the girl and held it out to her. Everyone stepped away a little skeptical about it.

"It's not a trick." He assured them.

She took it and he said "It's a gift, for those who'll join us."

When the girl reached inside she pulled out a dagger. _Uh, is that supposed to help?_ Ygritte thought to herself.

"Dragonglass." Jon explained. "A man of the Night's Watch used one of these daggers to kill a White Walker."

"You saw this?" The Thenn asked.

"No, but i trust the man."

"There are old stories about dragonglass." The girl said.

"There are old stories about ice spiders as big as hounds." The Thenn said skeptically.

"And with the things we've seen you don't believe them?" The girl stated.

"Come with me, and i'll share with you these weapons." Jon said.

"Come with you where?" The girl asked.

"There are good lands south of the wall. The Night's Watch will let you through the tunnel, and allow you to farm those lands." He answered.

People started considering his offer.

"I knew Mance Rayder. He never wanted a war with the Night's Watch, he wanted a new life for his people, for you. Were prepared to give you that new life."

"If?" The girl asked.

"If you swear you'll join us when the real war begins."

People looked to each other wondering.

"Where is Mance?" The Thenn asked.

They probably wouldn't like the answer. But she figured if Tormund and herself were willing to accept the offer, than they probably would too. It was certainly a better scenario than everyone staying in the cold worried from the White Walkers.

Jon took a moment before telling them "He died..."

"How?" The Thenn asked.

He paused again before saying, "I put an arrow through his heart."

People jumped up and began yelling at him all sorts of things. She and Tormund started calming them down telling them to wait.

When everyone became quieter, the Thenn said "I say we send the lord commander back to Castle Black... with no eyes."

He drew a knife from his side and began approaching Jon. Ygritte grabbed hold of her own dagger and braced to defend him if need be, but Tormund came up and put a hand on his chest.

He told the Thenn "Hey, none of you saw Mance die, I did. The southern king who broke our army, Stannis, wanted to burn him alive to send us a message. Jon Snow defied that cunt's orders..."

"He shot him so that he wouldn't have to scream for that fucker's pleasure." Ygritte told him.

"What he did took courage. And that's what we need today, the courage to make peace with men we've been killing for generations." Tormund told him.

"To make peace, or to make love?" The Thenn looked at her.

"You may be so blind as to follow her every wish because of your history of knowing her, but I'm am not so dumb as to forget the reason I've been fighting the crows all my life."

"My re-"

Tormund interrupted her saying, "Yes, she has romantic involvement with Jon Snow, but I don't. If I thought she was making the wrong decision, i would tell her. But I believe on my own that we need to make peace."

She wanted to say things harsher than that toward the Thenn, but she let him say his piece.

"I lost my father, my uncle, and two brothers fighting the damn crows."

"I'm not asking you to forget your dead, I'll never forget mine! I lost fifty brothers the day Mance attacked the wall. But I'm asking you to think about your children now. They'll never have children of their own if we don't band together. The long night is coming... and the dead come with it. No clan can stop them, the free folk cant stop them, the Night's Watch can't stop them and all the southern kings cant stop them! Only together... all of us. And even then it may not be enough, but at least we'll give the fuckers a fight!"

Everyone looked around themselves considering his point.

"You vouch for this man Ygritte?" The girl asked.

"Aye, and not just because I like him." She meant it more toward the Thenn than anyone.

"And you Tormund?"

Tormund looked to Jon and said "He's prettier than both my daughters, but he knows how to fight. He's young, but he knows how to lead."

His words got a couple of laughs out of everyone.

"He didn't have to come to Hardhome, he came because he needs us. And we need him."

"My ancestors would spit on me if i broke bread with a crow." The Thenn said.

"So would mine, but fuck 'em they're dead."

The girl walked over to Jon and said "I'll never trust a man in black."

He stayed silent.

"But I trust you both. If you say this is the way, were with you."

She looked at Tormund and he looked at her back.

"This is the way." Tormund said.

"Aye, this is the way." She repeated after him.

"I'm with Tormund!" A man spoke up. "If we stay here, were dead men. At least with king crow, there's a chance."

The giant in the back said "Tormund."

"Keep that new life you want to give us. And keep your glass, king crow." The Thenn said walking up to them.

"As soon as you get on those ships, were going to slit your throats, and dump your bodies to the bottom of the shivering sea. That's our enemy. That has always been our enemy." The Thenn walked past them and outside the house.

Plenty of free folk began walking out, and the girl said to Tormund "I fucking hate Thenns."

* * *

Jon

* * *

It seemed like plenty of free folk had joined. However that was not all of them, there were tons of others that didn't. People were boarding dinghies, and rowing back to the ships. Ygritte came over to him and said "Looks like things worked out."

"It seems it did... a better life for your people."

"In no small part thanks to you, Jon Snow."

"And you too. They might never have come if you and Tormund hadn't helped me convince them."

She smiled and they kissed each other.

Tormund walked over to them after helping someone get on a dinghy.

"How many do you think are with us? Five thousand?"

Tormund looked over them and said "I'm not good at counting."

"I'm a little concerned were leaving too many of them behind."

"The free folk are stubborn. You know how long it took for Mance to band them together? Twenty fuckin' years."

"And he knew them better than I ever will..."

"They're running out of food, and there's nothing to hunt. They'll come around." He assured him.

He nodded and turned his head and looked at the people getting on. The girl from in the hut had put two little girls on a dinghy, and set them off. However his gaze was interrupted when a bunch of the dogs started barking wildly. He looked at them trying to understand why. People started coming out of their huts and others looking around and by the wall's gate. On the east side of Hardhome there was a gate covering the entrance to the homes, so that nothing could get in on land. As everyone looked through the gate, there was a blizzard rolling in across all of the free folk outside of it.

The Thenn looked at it and said "Shut the gate."

People started running back to get inside, as plenty of people tried to get inside, there was hundreds upon hundreds that got left outside after the gate shut. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Ygritte drew her bow. People were banging on the gate's door shouting, and screaming for them to open the gate. But soon after, all the screaming stopped. The Thenn noticed this and slowly moved toward the gate, axe in hand. He went to a small hole in the gate and peeked out. It was very quiet at first, but then the sounds of Wights started banging on the gate, trying to knock it down.

The Thenn jumped back and yelled "Ready your arrows!"

People readied their bows and arrows, shooting Wights as they poked their heads through holes, and ripped hands through the wood of the gate. People began making a mad dash straight into the freezing water, not even waiting for the dinghies. He had to shove through the people as they scrambled back.

"Stay in line!" He yelled to no avail.

"Duncan!" He yelled. "Get them to the ship, and come back for me!"

Duncan yelled back "But you'll never make it-"

"Now!" He yelled.

Ygritte told him "There's no way in the seven hells I'm leaving you here!"

"It's not safe here, get everyone on board!" He told her.

"Fuck that! I'm staying with you."

"Fine, go!" He ordered Duncan

Duncan continued to get people onto the dinghies.

He saw the girl from earlier in the hut and told her "You should be on one of those boats!"

"So should you. My little girls got on, they're gonna let them past the Wall even if you're not there?"

"You have my word." He assured her. "I've given orders."

"Don't think you're gonna be there to enforce those orders." She told him.

There was a rumbling sound coming from above the cliff where the gate ended.

Tormund ran up to them and said "If they get through that gate, everyone dies!"

He understood and drew his sword, and held it in the air yelling "Night's Watch, with me! Move, move!"

He began shoving people out of the way moving toward the gate with Torumund, Ygritte, and other Night's Watchmen who stayed behind. The Wights were breaking viciously through the gate, tearing every piece of wood they could get their hands on. One managed to break through and killed one of the people. The others tried to kill it, but every sword that struck it did close to nothing. Another man stuck a spear through one of the Wights, but it did nothing to stop it as it killed the man. A Wight charged right toward him and he stabbed it with his sword, forcing the body into the hole of the gate that they were climbing into.

Ygritte shot one with in arrow, about to drop on him from above the gate, and Tormund kept the ones on the other side of the gate from touching him by chopping them to bits with his axe.

He yelled to him "Tormund! This site!"

Ygritte started filling the Wight with arrows, pinning him to the gate. And Tormund grabbed a stretcher, and ran over to help him patch up the wall. He got out of the way, and Tormund rammed the hole with the stretcher, covering where they were coming in. A couple still climbed over the gate and continued killing people. He stopped fighting for a moment, and looked up by the cliff top and saw four horses through the blizzard. He squinted and realized they were White Walkers. He knew the only way to beat them was with the dragon glass.

His gaze turned back down to the hut they were first in... they left the daggers in there.

"The dragon glass."

The Thenn heard him and yelled "You're with me then!"

He looked to Tormund, and he told him "Go!"

He nodded and began running to the hut with the Thenn. He'd lost sight of Ygritte in all the chaos, but kept his mind focused on the glass. He rushed to the hut with the glass, killing any Wights in his way. He stopped for a moment when he heard the giant yell from inside. He looked at the hut, and it all of a sudden blew open with him breaking down the walls. He grunted and threw Wights off of himself, and moved over to Jon and stomped on one, crushing it. After his moment of surprise, he went back to running into the hut through the hole the giant just made.

The Thenn followed him in, and the building had a small fire within it. They looked around inside for the satchel with the daggers, but they stopped when they saw a figure walking from the other side of the room. They stared for a moment, but soon realized it was a White Walker. It walked through the fire that had been set through the building, extinguishing it as he got closer. It then stared at them both.

"Get the glass." The Thenn told him.

He nodded and sprinted to the right side of the room, digging through the debris for the satchel. He heard the Thenn fighting it, and looked over really quickly to see his axe shatter like glass. He couldn't believe what he just witnessed, and the White Walker stabbed him with it's spear, killing the Thenn. He turned back to what he was doing, and shoved away a piece of the rubble. Finally, he had found the daggers. He reached in to grab one, but the White Walker grabbed him by his shoulder, and threw him away from it.

The strength of the Walker, threw him all the way across the room, and his sword flew out of its sheathe. He looked over while he was still on the ground, and the Walker was moving toward him. He immediately got up. The White Walker swung his spear at him, but he moved away each time, dodging it. He got an opening, and tried to punch it, but it just grabbed him and threw him into fallen debris. He quickly got up and rushed up the stairs to the second floor to get away from it.

He found a sword and swung it at the White Walker, although he dodged his strikes. He swung again, but the White Walker caught it with his spear, and shattered it like the Thenn's axe. He got a little caught off guard, and the White Walker hit him in the gut with the blunt end of the spear, and he fell off the second floor. He saw the White Walker look over him from above. He clutched his chest, feeling the air knocked out of him, and his entire body surged in pain. He struggled to get up, and his legs were shaky, and his head was dripping blood. But he managed to get up, and the White Walker jumped down to follow him.

He walked out of the hut and picked up his sword. He tried to run away, and looked back to see it, but he fell down from exhaustion and pain, and his sword fell out of his grasp. The White Walker walked out of the hut and moved after him. He looked up and saw Ygritte shoot the White Walker with arrows, but it did nothing. They bounced back off of him, like his skin was pure ice. She put the bow back around her and picked up a sword. He struggled to get up, knowing what would happen if she tried to fight it.

The White Walker was ready to stab him, but she hit it's spear back, but her weapon shattered. She felt the same kind of shock he did. The White Walker flipped his spear and went to stab her, but he grabbed his sword and rammed it into the White Walker's spear. A loud ringing went out into his ears, and he expected it to shatter. Ygritte fell down on her back trying to dodge the spear, but his sword still managed to stop it anyway. The White Walker looked to him, maybe even more surprised than he was that it didn't shatter.

They looked at each other for a moment, and then it pulled it's spear back. It went for another swing, but he knocked it away from him, and slammed his sword into the White Walker. All of a sudden, the White Walker shattered just like the other swords did. He dropped to his knees, unable to stand any longer. He looked up at the cliff and saw a White Walker looking down at him. He then fell to his hands and knees. Ygritte got up and held her arms around him from his back saying something to him, but he couldn't hear her.

Everything sounded slow, and strange. Like back at Castle black the very moment he saw Ygritte get shot with the arrow. He could hear voices of fighting, and death. He looked over and saw little children, turned into wights. And saw Tormund, fighting as hard as he could to defend the gate. He felt Ygritte, holding him from behind. He coughed up blood from his lungs. He could barely breathe from the fall he took, and the broken rib was only making things worse.

He saw Edd run toward him and he helped him get up, as well did Ygritte.

"Come on!" He shouted to him.

"The dragon glass..." He said weakly.

"Fuck the glass, were gonna die here!"

He breathed heavily, and then there was a loud screech from from atop the cliff. They all looked up to see what it was. There were hundreds of wights jumping off from on top of the cliff straight in front of them. They all landed staying still, but suddenly jumped to life after a couple moments.

"Oh fuuuuck!" Edd yelled in fear.

Ygritte grabbed him and helped him run back to the dinghies. They all ran as fast as they could. As they looked over, the gate was withstanding so much force, it fell. The Wights came pouring in, and Tormund ran to the dinghies yelling "Wun wun, to the sea!"

Wun wun growled loudly and ran with them. He carried a large flaming chunk of wood, and hit the Wights with it periodically, giving them time to keep running. After what felt like forever of running, they jumped on the dinghy and shouted "Go, go, go!"

Wun Wun beat off as many as he could, then began walking through the water with the dinghy as it was rowing.

"Are you okay?" Ygritte asked him.

He didn't answer, as he was looking back to shore.

"Jon, you're worrying me."

He watched the free folk getting killed one by one as the Wights murdered them with ease. It was a massacre to him, a butchery, a slaughter. And they were leaving them behind to die. Tormund looked at them the same way. It was an unpleasent sight putting it lightly.

A White Walker walked to the end of the docks slowly, watching their dinghy leave. He looked back after a moment at all the dead people. Jon watched in horror realizing what he would do. He slowly began lifting arms up. After a few moments, the dead began moving again, and started getting up. He looked along the shoreline as all the dead had gotten up and stared at him.

The boat slowly drifted back to the ship it came from. Everyone was silent, and nothing could be heard. Only the wind.


	5. Chapter 5: Wolves in sheep's clothing

**_Author's Note: So. A lot happened in this chapter, and any characters that are still alive or still present instead of dead or gone are completely intentional since I'm trying not to be exactly like the show. I did release this chapter in 3 days instead of longer like the other ones. But I don't think it made the story any less good. Whenever a chapter is done, I'll release it. That's just what I think should happen._**

 _ **However, now that were nearly caught up with the show, it will almost definitely take longer to write the chapters. Also, normally I'm not a total beggar for praise in reviews or anything. But I do want reviews telling me whether or not I should continue the story after season 6 ends. If I waited, I could implement everything within season 7 to involve Ygritte in some way. If my viewers didn't want me to wait, then I would take things in my own direction.**_

 _ **But, if you don't want to leave reviews regarding that matter, that's fine too. I can decide on my own. Anyway, this is getting pretty long so I'll end this here. Appreciate the feedback and all that good stuff. Enjoy chapter 5**_

* * *

Jon

* * *

The group walked through the snow toward the wall. Many free folk were lost when the White Walkers attacked, but it seemed they managed at least five thousand free folk to come south. As he was leading the group, he suddenly clutched his side. His ribs were stinging painfully.

Ygritte walked closer to him and asked "Are you alright? You're holding your side."

"I'm fine. Back in the training yard at Castle Black, I fought against Grenn, Pyp, and Rast all at once and sprained my shoulder pretty badly. Didn't stop Alliser from keeping me fighting." He said with a little laugh.

"Well that seems a little rough." She said a little less concerned now.

"Aye, but it helped. If I was ever hurt during battle, I could keep fighting."

They paused in conversation for a moment, and she asked "Back at Hardhome with that White Walker, he broke m' sword."

He thought about that too. It was strange that his own didn't shatter like the others.

"But your sword managed to stop it's spear, how come?"

"I don't know. It surprised me as well."

"What's that sword made of?"

"Valyrian steel. Some of the rarest swords in Westeros were made with Valyrian steel."

"You think that... Val-ear-ian steel might be what stopped it?"

He gave a small chuckle at how she said _Valyrian_ and told her "Maybe, it's at least a likely possibility. I'm just glad it didn't hurt you."

"Hurt me, Jon Snow? Look at yourself. I should'a been the one fighting that thing off with your sword." She said sarcastic.

He laughed a little bit, and she said "'Oh Ygritte, save me please, I'm so helpless without a strong woman to save me.'"

"Yes... my hero." He said sarcastic.

They smiled and looked at each other as they continued walking, but they were close enough to the wall now that they could be seen by the Night's Watch. He looked up at the top of the wall with all his free folk waiting for someone to open the gate. The thought suddenly occurred to him that Alliser may refuse to open the gate. If that were the case, he'd have to march all the way back to Eastwatch, and signal the passing ship's Stannis lent them. It took a while, but finally the gate opened and he let out a sigh of relief.

Everyone began walking to the gate. The group went inside the tunnel and came out on the other side of the Wall. He saw Sam there waiting for him, and they gave each other a hug.

"Were you worried?" He asked.

"Nah, I knew you'd come back."

"Heh. Glad someone has faith in me."

He turned his head and noticed Ygritte standing there, not knowing Sam.

"Oh... right. Sam, this is Ygritte. Ygritte, this is Sam. "

Sam nodded and held his hand out asking "How do you do?"

"How I'm doing?" She asked.

Sam got a bit confused and Jon said "She doesn't know very many southern courtesies, Sam. Most people don't do many handshakes or talk like we do north of the Wall."

"Oh, okay. Apologizes m'lady, or... Ygritte." He took his hand back.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Jon on the other hand probably needs one of your healers."

"Right. Where's Maester Aemon?" He asked.

"Jon... Maester Aemon died while you were at Hardhome."

They fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry to hear that." He told him.

"Did you burn the body?"

"I wanted to wait for you to come back, but we didn't want to risk him turning into a Wight."

"I understand. I'm glad you did so."

Free folk began walking through the gate and into Castle Black. Edd showed them the way to the gate and opened it. And Duncan gave Tormund a map to lead them down south of all the places they could farm. Him, Ygritte and Sam went to watch as they began going south.

"Are you going to go south with them?" He asked Ygritte.

"Not 'less you want me to." She told him.

"Of course not, but they're your people, your friends. And the Night's Watch won't like you being here."

Alliser and Janos looked over the free folk pretty upset.

"Well who cares? You're the lord commander. And I'd prefer staying with my lover than Tormund... no offense to 'em."

He smiled and said "Alright then. I'm going to have to go check on everything else right now though. I suppose you can do whatever you want while you're here, Edd can probably show you where everything is."

"Alright. I'll see about that."

She went and talked to Edd, and he went to talk to Duncan.

"Duncan?" He asked.

"Yes lord commander?"

"How many people from Hardhome did we get?"

"Five thousand and fourty."

"I saw a woman put her girls on a boat right before she left the boat to go... did she make it out?"

"Do you mean Karsi? She was badly injured, and managed to swim all the way to one of our ships in the freezing water."

"Will she live?"

"It's unclear, my lord. But she's being kept at Eastwatch until she recovers."

"Send them a letter informing her, her children are safe."

"Of course, my lord."

He was glad to hear the mother of those girls was still alive. There was going to be a lot to work out between the southern lords and the free folk if a peace was to stay. He began making his way to his room. It was going to be a long day ahead of him.

* * *

Davos

* * *

He knew the orders befallen him. Convince Jon Snow to spare food and other supplies. This was going to be no easy task, especially since he remembered him saying they could barely afford to feed them and the Wildlings before. He traveled the king's road up to Castle Black, but on his way he slowed down seeing a giant line of Wildlings walking his way out of Castle Black. They seemed to pay no care toward him, seemingly not wanting a fight. It then occurred to him that perhaps Jon had let them through, like Stannis suggested. He continued riding a horse past them, and toward Castle Black.

He got to the gate and rode the horse toward the stables. He dismounted it, and tied it to a post, and then went to the first Night's Watch member he saw.

"Ser Alliser Thorne." He said his name.

"Ser Davos, Stannis Baratheon's hand."

"I need to speak to your lord commander, I have a message for him from Stannis Baratheon."

"Before i tell you where he is, indulge me for a moment."

"Very well."

"These Wildlings riding through our gates, our tunnel, what do you make of it?"

"What do I make of it? I'd rather make them fight for the king."

"Aye, you're very loyal to your king, Ser Davos. As am I loyal to the Night's Watch."

"I had no doubts you weren't."

"Which is why this is wrong. What Jon Snow is doing is betraying the Night's Watch."

"I understand your frustration, Ser Alliser. But can you tell me where the lord commander is?"

He paused for a moment and said "He's in his room."

"Thank you." He immediately began making his way to the lord commander's room.

He knocked on the door and entered. Jon had been reading letters he'd gotten from other lords.

"Lord commander." He said.

He looked up and asked "Ser Davos? What are you doing here."

"I've come with a message from Stannis Baratheon."

"What for?"

He set down the scroll on the table in front of him. He picked up the scroll and undid the seal on it, and rolled it out in front of him.

After he read it, he put it down and said "No. We can't do that."

"You can. You have to." He told Jon.

"And why do we have to Ser Davos? We barely have enough food to feed our own people, we ran out of horses a long time ago, and we don't have steel to make swords."

"Because Stannis is the one true king. Whatever sacrifices you can make, it's necessary. And he will give you back everything once he has taken King's Landing, and more."

Jon got up and grabbed his cloak, then began walking out of the room.

Davos followed him, and Jon said "We are sworn not to interfere in the politics of the seven kingdoms, you know this!"

"This isn't about your Night's Watch vows. This is about you repaying your debt."

"We can't repay it when it involves war against other kingdoms."

"Who came to your aid? Stannis! Now he needs you."

"We don't have enough men to make any difference."

"The Wildlings will make a difference!"

"The Wildlings will never fight for Stannis, I told him before-"

"You saved their bloody lives! If they're going to live in the seven kingdoms, safe behind our wall, they ought to fight for the damn place!"

"It's not their fight!"

Their argument was interrupted when the gates to Castle Black began to open. They both looked at it to see who it was, and lady Melisandre came riding in on a horse. He had to blink a couple times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. Jon looked to him, then went down to Melisandre. Davos followed after him.

Jon went up to her after she dismounted and asked "Stannis...?"

She was scarcely silent.

He went up in front of her afterward and asked "Shireen, the princess?"

She simply looked into his eyes with a frown that told everything. The harsh truth began to set into him. Melisandre walked off to a different part of the Castle. He looked back at Jon in silence.

* * *

Jon

* * *

The night was very cold outside, as usual. Most everyone had gone to sleep by now. Ygritte went to sleep in the other rooms, like the ones Sam, and Edd slept in. She didn't much want to sleep there, but it did give him time to focus on all the letters he was getting. But he got bored of them eventually, and threw one aside on his desk. He put a hand on his face, unable to keep reading from being so tired.

Suddenly, Olly quickly came in the room. and said "Lord commander, its one of the Wildling's you brought back. Says he knows your uncle Benjen, says he's still alive."

He jumped up from his seat and asked "Are you sure he's talking about Benjen?"

"Said he was first ranger."

He stared for a moment, then quickly left the room, rushing outside.

Alliser met him at the bottom of the stairs and said "Man says he saw your uncle at Hardhome the last full moon."

"Could be lying."

"Could be... one way to find out."

"Where is he?"

"Over there." Alliser pointed to a group of a bunch of Night's Watchmen surrounding person.

He quickly made his way through the group and went in front to look at them. When he got there, he only saw a cross saying 'TRAITOR'. He paused for a moment, wondering why they had done that... he knew they hated him, but it was cruel to joke about his uncle. He turned back around to leave when suddenly Alliser stabbed him in the gut with a dagger. He was forced backward a little from the force of him. Suddenly all sorts of emotions started going through his head.

"For the watch." Alliser told him.

He pulled the blade out of him, and then Othell Yarwyck came up and stabbed him close to the same place, telling him "For the watch."

He thought about Ygritte... what would happen when he died. What about Sam? Edd? Duncan? Ghost? He pulled the blade out. Bowen Marsh came up and stabbed him in the gut again saying "For the watch."

Jon tried to stop them as they came, but all his strength had left him. Janos Slynt came up and stabbed him saying "For the watch."

He pulled the blade out, and then another man stabbed him saying "For the watch."

He began looking around him, all the people who hated him enough to do this. He fell to his knees, unable to stand anymore. It was hard for him to breathe when he fell off the floor from the White Walker, but now it was even worse. It hurt incredibly bad to breathe. He looked as blood was spilling from his wounds. He turned his head back up and watched as the men made room for Olly to come forward. He stood himself further up looking at Olly. Olly looked back down at him with eyes filled with disappointment. He tried to breathe some air in as he looked at him to say something.

He got enough to say in a whisper "Olly."

Olly looked at him as his face may have been turning to sadness, but immediately went to anger, as he plunged the knife directly into his heart. And then he pulled it back out saying "For the watch."

He felt his heart stop beating after the stab, it was a harsh, painful feeling. He thought back to everything he'd done to get him to this moment as he stared at him. His vision was beginning to fade, as his heart had stopped beating, and he couldn't survive anymore. His final thoughts turned to Ygritte right before he fell on to his back. He could hear the footsteps of people starting to leave, but that started to fade too. And soon he couldn't move his body anymore, and he felt nothing but the cold.

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

She was having a dream about when Jon talked about the castle of Winterfell. How the towers were three times taller than the windmill they saw. It was a pretty good dream, but she was started to lose it as someone was shaking her. She began to hear a voice.

"Ygritte... wake up... wake up...!"

She slowly began to open her eyes and asked "Unh... fuck's sake, what is it?"

Edd was shaking her and told her "Something's wrong, Ghost is howling."

"Wh... Ghost? Jon's direwolf? Then go throw it a bone and leave me be."

"You don't understand. Ghost NEVER howls."

"Ugh... fine." She began to get out of bed.

Edd told her "Get your bow, and take this sword." He held out a sword for her.

"Edd... I think you're-"

"Don't fight me on this."

She began to notice Duncan, Sam, and some other men of the Night's Watch were up too. She took the sword and picked up her bow that was leaning by the side of the bed. She wrapped the string around her shoulders so it would hang on her, and kept her sword out. She started to hear Ghost howling too. It was a really saddened howl, like when a dog is lonely, or when one of the pack would die. They went outside, and it was still pretty dark. The sun had only just barely begun to rise. Davos was over by some snow and looked down. They ran over and Duncan said "That's our lord commander!"

She saw Jon laying still with some dried blood in the snow.

"Jon... Jon!" He didn't react to her

"Help me get him inside." Davos said. Duncan and some other Night's Watchmen picked him up and began carrying him to a room in the castle. There was lots of dried blood in the snow. She immediately went back and followed them as they carried him. She opened the door to the room they had settled on, and Edd came in and shoved everything off the table. They put him down on the table, and he wasn't breathing, and wasn't moving. She walked over to his corpse and felt his gut where they had stabbed him.

His blood was dry, and cold. She began to cry, having tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She looked at his dead eyes, staring at nothing. She moved her hand over them and closed them. Edd and Sam were close to crying too.

"Thorne did this." Edd said.

"How many of your brothers do you think you can trust?" Davos asked.

"Trust..." He looked around and said "The men in this room... and Ygritte."

"I... I need to get Gilly, she's not safe where she is."

"Does the wolf know you?" Davos asked.

"Yes, he knows us." Sam said.

"Were gonna need all the help we can get." Davos told them.

There was a knock on the door and everyone got their swords ready, and she held her own up through all the tears she was shedding.

"Ser Davos?" Melisandre asked through the door

Edd looked back at Davos, and he nodded. Everyone sheathed their swords, and Edd opened the door. She looked back at Jon, not able to pay much attention to anyone else. Melisandre slowly entered, and began to notice Jon's body. Sam and Edd went out and shut the door to go get Gilly and Ghost. Melisandre stepped next to her and looked at Jon's face.

"I saw him in the flames... fighting at Winterfell." Melisandre said.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, and Davos said "Well I can't speak for the flames... but he's gone."

Melisandre slowly rubbed her hand on his cheek, and she looked at her a bit suspiciously. Melisandre looked at him for a couple moments more, and then left the room. As she looked at Jon she got a chair and sat down looking at his body. She held his hand and looked down at the floor shutting her eyes as tears dripped down.


	6. Chapter 6: Negotiations

**_Author's note: So, I had a few reviews telling me their opinions on whether or not to continue after season 6 ends. I've heard their points, and I couldn't agree more. One thing i would like to mention however, is that there will need to be plenty of more POV's. That isn't a problem. I just may need to change my summary some, and the writing time could be 3 days to 3 weeks. Anyway, I will continue following season 6 until it ends, and then give my story line. As always, I still appreciate all the follows, reviews and favorites. Even if you don't do any of those, the fact that you took time to read this makes me glad to be writing this._**

 _ **(Also, anyone catch S6 EP7? It took some ideas I already had planned to implement into my version of season 7... wtf. Still good ep though.)**_

 _ **Enjoy chapter 6**_

* * *

Davos

* * *

"I will kill them for this." Ygritte told them.

"Were outnumbered." Duncan told her.

"I don't give a flying fuck how many people they have, I'll cut down every last one of them, and save that blonde headed cunt for last."

"Well that's a pretty nice image, too bad we won't be alive to celebrate that victory." Edd mentioned.

"Jon was my friend too but... we don't have to die over this." Sam said.

Ghost nudged Jon's hand, trying to wake him up, and Ygritte petted his head.

"It's too late for that now, there will be a fight. Thorne will have seen we weren't there, Castle Black is his now." He told Sam.

"Well, there's gotta be something we can do. And baby Sam..." He looked at Gilly while she was in a chair.

"It's too late now. We all die here today, I say we do our best to take Thorne with us when we go." Edd said.

"I didn't know lord commander Snow for long, but I have to believe he wouldn't want his friends, and Ygritte to die for nothing. You're right, we need to fight... but Sam is also right, we don't need to die, not if we have help." Davos told them.

"Who is gonna help us?" Sam asked.

"You're not the only ones who owe your lives to Jon Snow." He said.

Everyone looked at each other realizing who it would take... the Wildlings.

Ygritte stood up and grabbed her bow, and her sword.

"Bolt the door, don't let anyone in, we'll be back as soon as we can." Edd told them.

Edd opened the door, and he went out with Ygritte. Duncan went up to the door and shut it for them.

* * *

Later in the day, there was a knock on the door and everyone drew their swords. Ghost growled and licked his teeth looking at the door.

"Ser Davos." Alliser said. "We have no cause to fight. We are both anointed knights."

"Hear that lads? Nothing to fear." He said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I will grant amnesty to all brothers who throw down their arms before nightfall. And you, Ser Davos, I will allow you to travel south. A free man, with a fresh horse. I'll even let the Wildling girls go back south with the rest of their people, given on their word that they not speak of what happened here."

He could easily tell he was lying. As if he'd let the Wildling women go down south after they killed Jon Snow for letting them go in the first place. But he played his game for a little while.

Gilly looked like she was nearly dumb enough to believe it, but Sam Might've.

"And some mutton. I'd like some mutton."

"Wha?" Alliser asked confused.

"I'm not much of a hunter. I'm going to need some food if I'm to make it down south without starving."

"We'll give you food. You can bring the red woman with you if you like. Or you can leave her here with us, whichever you choose. But surrender by nightfall, or this ends with blood."

He paused for a moment and said "Thank you, Ser Alliser. We'll discuss amongst ourselves, and come back to you with an answer."

He listened to them walk away, and then turned back to the Night's Watchmen and said "Boys, I've been running from men like that all my life. In my learnerd opinion, we open that door-"

"And they'll slaughter us all." Duncan said.

"They want to come in." Another said.

"They're gonna come in." Duncan corrected him.

"Aye, and we don't need to make it easy for 'em."

"Edd is our only chance." A man said.

"It's a sad fuckin' statement if Dolorous Edd is our only chance." Duncan said.

He paused for a moment and said "There's always the red woman."

"What's one red head going to do against forty armed men?" Duncan asked.

He looked up and told him "You haven't seen her do what I've seen her do."

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

After leaving Castle Black, her emotions were still new. Jon Snow had only died hours ago, and there was little time to mourn. The trip to where the free folk were was a pretty quiet one, Edd didn't do much other then look back from his horse every now and then to see how she was doing, and kept riding.

"Were almost there." Edd announced. "...Are you okay?"

"No, those bastards fucking killed him."

"I know... he was my friend too, we'll make sure to get back at every last one of them."

They rode into the free folk camp, they had setup tents in place of buildings, but they began to rebuild some of them. Barely though. Once they got there they dismounted, and a Thenn asked "Ygritte? What are you doing here?"

"I need to see Tormund, now."

"He's in here." He pointed to one of the tents.

They entered the tent together and Tormund turned around from a table he was eating from. "Ygritte? What are you here for?"

"Tormund... The Night's Watch killed Jon Snow." She barely managed to say the last part.

He paused for a moment and said "You aren't joking."

Edd said "We need your help to avenge our lord commander from those traitors. Quickly though, Ser Alliser intends to kill the rest of my friends soon."

"I'll prepare as many people as I can, we'll move in less than an hour."

"Good." Edd said, and he then left the tent.

"What do you want to do?" Tormund asked her.

"I'm going to kill those fuckers."

"You don't have to go, you need time to mourn the loss over him."

"I'll feel better when they're not sucking air in this world anymore."

"If you want to kill those cunts with me, I won't stop you."

"Good, because you won't be able to stop me."

She left the tent before he could say anything else. Tormund came out a few moments later and gathered as many free folk as he could, and they all went back to Castle Black as quickly as possible.

* * *

Davos

* * *

"It's time, Ser Davos. Open the door, and the men inside can rejoin their brothers in peace." Ser Alliser told them.

"We'll even set the wolf free, north, where it belongs. Nobody needs to die tonight."

He stood facing the door and thought for a moment.

"I've never been much of a fighter..."

He walked over to Jon's scabbard and picked it up off the floor.

"Apologies for what you're about to see."

He drew the sword out from its scabbard and everyone else drew their swords.

"Stay behind me, Gilly." Sam told her.

Things went quiet for a moment, and then the door started getting hit. Everyone stood tense and ready. Ghost growled fiercely at the door. The wood was starting to give way, and was getting cracks through it. Suddenly a big chunk flew off the door and right before it looked like the door might break, there was a distant smashing. Everyone started to calm down realizing the free folk got there.

"Attack!" Alliser shouted, and there was a quick clashing of swords, but it didn't last very long, and there didn't seem to be much else fighting.

"Fight you cowards!" He heard Alliser yell. There was no fighting going on.

They opened the door and Davos stepped out seeing a giant, and plenty of free folk.

"You fuckin' traitor." Alliser said.

"The only traitors here, are the ones who shoved their knives into their lord commander's heart." Edd said.

"For thousands of years, the Night's Watch has held Castle Black against the Wildlings." He said.

"Until you." Tormund told him.

Suddenly, Olly, or at least he thought that was his name, charged at Tormund with a sword but he blocked his strike and threw him toward some other Wildlings who restrained him. And Ygritte punched Alliser in his gut while two others restrained him. After they got dragged off, Edd, Tormund, and Ygritte came up to the room they were hiding in and Davos stepped aside so they could come in. Tormund looked over the body for the first time, and Ygritte grew colder, more emotionless to the sight of his body. She obviously could barely stand the reality of his death.

"Took a lot of knives..." Tormund stated. "I'll have my men get the wood for a fire. Body needs to burn."

Tormund left the room while Ygritte, Edd, and him stayed. Ygritte sat down and held his hand again.

"He was a good man, Jon." He stated.

"He wouldn't want you to give up your life because of him."

"I'm not... I'm going to kill those-" She started.

"I know. But what then? Your whole life can't revolve around losing Jon Snow."

"Just... leave me be."

He looked to Edd and they both left the room.

"So... what will we do now? The Night's Watch is all a bunch of traitors now." Edd asked.

"I don't know, I don't think it's up to me... but what I do think, is you no longer have to spend your lives stuck at a frozen castle in the middle of nowhere."

"So what? We abandon our posts, forget our vows?"

"Perhaps... no one is forcing you to do anything. There's no one left to command, so you could elect some new people, or leave."

"Uh huh. And what about you?"

"I... have an idea... I'll come find you in a little while okay? So don't go packing up and leaving just yet."

"What're you going to do?"

"...See the red woman."

* * *

He knocked on her door and heard her whisper to come in. He entered and shut the door behind him. She was sitting in a chair in front of a fireplace, wrapped in furs. It was unusual to see her like that, she normally wore a single robe, almost untouched by the cold. She claimed the lord kept her warm, but now she seemed to have lost all faith.

"I'm sorry my lady. I don't mean to interrupt." He started.

"You interrupt nothing." She said in a sort of depressed state.

He approached her slowly and said "I assume you know why I'm here."

She usually had a way of knowing these things. He could enter a room, and she'd give him an answer before he could even speak. However this time, she said "I will after you tell me."

"It's about the lord commander."

"Former, lord commander." She corrected him.

"Does he have to be?" He suggested.

"What are you asking?" She questioned him.

He paused for a moment, thinking of how to phrase it. And asked "Do you know of any... magic, that could help him... bring him back?"

"If you want to help him, leave him be."

"Can it be done?" He persisted.

"There are some with this power."

"How?"

"I don't know."

"Have you seen it done?"

She paused looking at the fireplace. "I met a man who came back from the dead, but the priest who did it... it shouldn't have been possible."

"But it was, it can be, now."

"Not for me." She stood up and went away from the fireplace.

"Not for you? I saw you drink poison that should've kill you. I saw you give birth to a demon, made of shadows-"

"Everything I believed... the great victory I saw in the flames, all of it was a lie."

She paused and turned back to look at him, and said "You were right all along. The lord never spoke to me."

"Fuck 'em then. Fuck all of them. I'm not a devout man, obviously. Seven gods, drowned gods, tree gods, it's all the same. I'm not asking the lord of light for help, I'm asking the woman who showed me that miracles exist."

She looked to him and said almost in a whisper. "I've never had this gift."

"Have you ever tried?"

She stood in thought for a moment.

* * *

He entered the room with Melisandre, and Ygritte was still sat there holding his hand.

"What do you want..." She asked in a depressed state.

"I know this is a difficult time for you... but we had an... idea, if you will."

"What's your idea? And who is this woman? Why is she so affected over..." Her sentence trailed off as she looked at his body.

"This is... Lady Melisandre. I've seen her do things I never thought imaginable, and... I think she can help him."

"The lord of light showed me that Jon Snow was the one chosen by him. I don't know what I can do... but I can try to bring him back."

"Back how? He's dead."

"I'm going to try."

They fell silent in the room. Afterward he left and got Edd and Tormund to come into the room. Melisandre and him undressed his body and put a cloth over his manhood for modesty purposes. His chest was soaked in blood, and it was still warm from underneath his clothing. Everyone stood back giving her a chance to do her magic. She got a cloth and soaked it in a basin of water, then stepped over to his body. She washed the blood from him body for quite a while, until all that was left was the stab wounds. She then grabbed a pair of scissors, and snipped a lock of his hair.

She then said some strange words that no one could quite understand "Zyhys oñoso jehikagon Aeksiot epi, se gis hen syndrorro jemagon."

She continued snipping locks of his hair, and beard. Afterward, she got a pitcher of water, and poured it over his hair saying "Zyhys perzys stepagon Aeksio Oño jorepi, se morghultas lys qelitsos sikagon."

Everyone continued watching anxiously. She then put the pitcher of water down and moved back to his body. She rubbed her hands and then placed them on his body saying "Hen syndrorro, oños. Hen ñuqir, perzys. Hen morghot, glaeson."

Afterward, she removed her hands and looked at him, but he still hadn't come back to life. She gently put her hands back on him and repeated the words "Hen syndrorro, oños. Hen ñuqir, perzys. Hen morghot, glaeson."

He still had not come back to life. She repeated the words again, and looked at his face, but nothing had changed. She began repeating the words multiple times, and still it seemed hopeless. Eventually she sighed and said "Please..."

Everyone waited. Watching him, hoping he would wake up. However he didn't. She lifted her hands off of his body, and Ygritte closed her eyes, not wanting to see him anymore. Tormund went to the door and exited out first, then Melisandre followed him. Edd went out afterward, and Ygritte sat back down in the chair she had been holding his hand from. As he watched them leave, he went over and looked at Jon's body. Ygritte looked at him, unable to leave, he figured she would just wait and see. He turned about to leave when he heard Ghost perk up. He turned back and looked at the body.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He suddenly felt tons of things touching him all at once, and gasped for breath as his lungs were burning for air. His sight, and hearing, and feelings all returned instantaneously. He heard a loud thump from right next to him, but he didn't have the strength to look at what it was just yet. He slowly caught his breath and tried to calm down. He still had no clue how he got where he was, but it didn't matter at the moment. He raised himself up on the table and saw Ygritte next to a knocked over chair looking at him with shock. He turned his head the other way and saw Davos staring at him, breathing almost as heavily as he was. Even Ghost looked surprised.

He tried to figure out what was happening, if it was all some sort of crazy dream. But then he looked down to his chest and saw the holes where he was stabbed. This was no dream, this was real. He started breathing heavily again. He turned to get off the table and Ygritte moved over quickly to help him stand. Davos took off his coat and wrapped it around him saying "Easy, easy... easy."

They sat him down on a chair, and Ygritte couldn't stop looking at him. Lady Melisandre walked in, and looked quite surprised too.

"What do you remember?" Davos asked him.

 _For the watch... for the watch..._ He thought.

"They stabbed me... Olly... he put a knife in my heart... I shouldn't be here." He couldn't even begin to imagine how he was still alive.

"The lady brought you back." Davos informed him.

She bent down to his level and asked "Afterwards, after they stabbed you, after you died, where did you go? What did you see?"

 _Darkness, paralysis, stuck from time moving in any way..._ That was all he could remember seeing for hours.

"Nothing... there was nothing at all." He told her.

"The lord let you come back for a reason. Stannis was not the prince that was promised, but someone has to be." She said

"Could you give us some time alone?" Ygritte asked.

Melisandre stood up after a moment and she left with Davos. Ygritte shut the door and bent down in front of him.

"You're back. I don't know how... I don't know why... but you are." She said.

"They... killed me. I... trusted them. And they turned on me."

"I know. I can't even begin to imagine how this must feel for you."

"I did what I thought was right... and I got murdered for it."

"After you died, I couldn't even begin to think what I'd do without you. I was going to kill every last one of those fucks for killing you, 'ell, maybe I still will. But you did do what was right. And now you're back, and you still can do what's right. We'll fix everything wrong that we can, together."

"I don't know how to do that..."

"You know nothing, Jon Snow. But we'll figure it out together. And I can't go on without you. You goddamn promised me you'd never leave me again, so I wont let you. So please, don't give up on me yet."

He looked into her eyes. She brought her lips to his and kissed him. They held each other as they did so. Ghost walked up and nudged in between them for attention, and he smiled and he held both of them.

"Alright... but I need to get some clothes on."

"So soon? I was enjoying the view."

"If i wasn't dead only minutes ago, I'd let you stare."

He got some new leathers on and wrapped himself in the lord commander's cloak. He then went outside and looked off the railing at everyone below. Everyone was staring at him speechless, and he could kind of understand why. He then made his way down the stairs, and the free folk made way for him. He stopped once he got to Tormund, who stood in front of him.

"The others think your some kind of god. The man who returned from the dead."

"I'm not a god."

"I know that... I saw your pecker, what kind of god would have a pecker that small?"

He grinned a little, they hugged. Afterward, Tormund let go, and he went further until he got to Sam.

"I said once before that 'I knew you would always come back.' But I didn't think you'd take it this literally."

"Well. At least you lost the contest of who's the most hated man in Castle Black just a while ago."

He smiled and they hugged each other as well. He then went to Edd and hugged him too.

Edd said "Well your eyes are still brown. Is that still you in there?"

"I think so... hold off on burning my body for now."

"Heh... that's funny... you sure that's still you in there?"

They both laughed.

* * *

Back in his room, he and Sam were drinking to calm things down after what happened. They were telling jokes and such to each other, but eventually Sam got a serious look on him and said "I wanted to ask you something... to ask something of you... send me, Gilly, and the baby to Oldtown, so I can become a maester. That's what I'm meant to be, not this."

"And why's that?"

"Well, I'd be more use to you as a maester, more use to everyone now that Maester Aemon's gone. The Citadel has the world's greatest library. I'll learn about history, strategy, healing, things that'll help when... when they come."

 _The White Walkers._ He thought.

"If Gilly stays here, then she'll die. And the men mutinied the last time because you brought the Wildlings south of the wall. Sure, they're on your side now, but that's because Ser Alliser's gone. And some might still feel that way. I wouldn't want to see them hurt her, or the baby named after me."

"Alright... I've been thinking I don't much belong here either."

"W... Wait, you?" He asked a little surprised.

"The men killed me, Sam. It's not safe for me, or Ygritte. I'm going to pass my sentence on the men who did it... and come with you to OldTown, I'll figure out what I want to do from there."

"Well then, who's going to be lord commander?"

"I'll think about it. But that's my plan for now, if you'll let me and Ygritte come with you."

"Of course, Jon. You're my best friend."

"Perhaps you can become maester to some lord's house when you get done with it. Or visit some of the free cities. Either way... you know, becoming a maester means you have to swear off women right?"

"Heh, they can bloody well try."

He then never remembered Sam having trouble involving women. Last time he'd asked, he said he never 'did it' with Gilly. And he heard he'd gotten beaten up pretty badly by some Night's Watchmen while he was gone protecting Gilly, and Ghost saved him.

"Sam..."

"What?"

"Sam... you were beaten nearly half to death, how did you?"

"Heh, very carefully."

They smiled at each other and he picked up his cup and said "To our journey then."

Sam repeated "To our journey." And they toasted.

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

She went into the storage rooms where the traitors were being held. It was quite dark inside, and only a few tinted windows for light to give them. It was much worse than her accommodations. She went into Ser Alliser's room and shut the door behind her. He had shackles around his hands, chained to the wall. He looked at her with a quite neutral look. He was beaten, and he knew it.

"So. You were Jon Snow's Wildling lover. I had suspicions for why he was visiting these storage rooms." He started.

"Well if ya knew that, then you know why I'm 'ere."

"You want revenge, I assume. To murder me right here and now. That's why we call you Wildlings, because you steal, and murder everything south of the wall."

"And what 'bout you Alliser fucking Thorne? Your Night's Watch is full of rapers, and thieves, and murderers."

"The difference between you and I, is that that I never did do murder. I fought for house Targaryen, a noble house you probably know nothing of. King Robert won the war, and gave me a choice, the Night's Watch, or execution. What i did was honorable, I fought for a cause I believed in, and I wasn't going to be executed like some common criminal."

"Easy thing to say when you're given a choice. We weren't given one, you built a Wall and shoved us north. You never asked if we'd live peacefully, or if we'd kill you all, you forced us."

"If that's how you want to see it... believe it. But I know what I did was right, even if it meant killing Lord Snow."

"Oh, aye... except Jon Snow's not dead."

He tilted his head slightly and said "What're you on about?"

"You see, here's the thing about men like you... you think you can get away with everything in life without punishment." She bent down to his level. "Well not today." She pulled out a dagger and gently pressed it to his face.

"Go on then... I've done my part in this world." He said fearlessly.

"No... that's not a punishment you deserve." She stabbed the blade into his hand.

He groaned quite loudly in pain.

"Let's see... how many times did you stab him?" She asked.

"You fucking Wildling whore..."

She smirked and pulled the dagger out, and then stabbed it into his other hand. He gritted his teeth hard, and made a softer groan, it seemed he didn't want to give her the pleasure of showing his pain. She twisted the knife in it, and then pulled it out. She then pressed the dagger up against his gut, he made a bitter face but stayed silent. She plunged the dagger into his gut like they did Jon. He then couldn't hold back his pain, and made a louder groan, and gasped for breath.

"It was about... six, right? I'd say three's a mercy."

She then got up and walked out of the storage room leaving him to die. She went to the kitchen and washed her hands in some water, cleaning the blood off of them. When she exited, she saw some Night's Watchmen entered the storage rooms, and knew what they were about to see.


	7. Chapter 7: The Pink Letter

_**Author's note: Well, this one took a while longer. I had a hard time deciding how I wanted Ygritte to react to Sansa's arrival. I've kinda kept it more toward them being good friends. That's the way I see it would work out. This chapter didn't really have as many changes as I'd have liked. Just like S6 EP6, some episodes have to be filler. :/ But next chapter will. And I'm pretty sure the next chapter will come out in 1 week or less. Now I'm pretty sure it goes without saying by now, so I'll mention it one last time: I'm never giving up on this story unless I say I will. If I don't post anything within two or three weeks, My computer may have broken or something.**_

 _ **Anyway, enough writing in this thing. Enjoy chapter 7.**_

* * *

Jon

* * *

Alliser Thorne was found dead in his cell before he could give his sentence. No one knew who did it, however he had a pretty good idea who it was. As he sat in silence, he heard a knock on the door and Edd saying "It's time."

He looked at his old uniform, it was covered in blood and holes. He stood up and put it on a table, then grabbed his sword and tied the scabbard around him. He walked outside to see plenty of free folk and Night's Watchmen all gathered around looking at the traitors. He had sentenced them to death, and by the way of the old gods, he had to swing the sword. He walked to the platform they were at. They were stood up on a platform held by barrels and chains. There was a rope he would cut so when it was time he would cut it, and force them to be hanged.

Once he approached them he said "If you have any last words, now's the time."

Janos Slynt wept "Please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, don't kill me."

He paused and said "It's not my forgiveness you should be asking for, it's the god's."

Janos continued crying, and he moved on to the next person. Bowen Marsh said "You shouldn't be alive... it's not right."

"Neither was killing me." He told him.

He moved on to the next man and Othell Yarwyck said "My mother's still living in White Harbor, could you write her? Tell her 'I died fighting the Wildlings.'"

He considered his request, and moved down to Olly, the last one. He thought for a moment... it would be hard to even look at him now, let alone kill him. He slowly moved his head up to him. Olly just stared at him with an angry look. He frowned, and turned to the rope, and drew his sword. He stared at the rope unable to move for a moment, he'd never executed someone in such a way. Especially a boy. He then thought back to how they all stabbed him, with only Janos showing remorse because he was a coward. He then lifted the sword and cut the rope. The barrels got jerked back from the platform holding them up, and they all dropped.

He sheathed his sword once they had stopped breathing, and knew he would have to live it down. He went over to Edd and took off his cloak and gave it to him.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Edd asked.

"Wear it. Burn it. It doesn't matter... you have Castle Black."

Edd's face turned to some disbelief, and shock. Jon walked down the stairs and said "My watch is ended."

He continued walking back to his room, to prepare to leave.

* * *

He changed his outfit back to the Stark's uniform. The same kind he wore when he first arrived at Castle Black. He packed a map, and a little bit of food in a satchel. He also got a quiver for Ygritte to carry, since they might need to hunt some food along the way.

Edd asked "where are you gonna go?"

"To Oldtown, with Sam and Gilly. I'll take Ygritte with me."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Get warm?" He said with a light smile. Edd however, looked quite serious.

Edd set Longclaw on the table and said "I was with you at Hardhome. We saw what's out there, how can you leave us now?"

He paused a moment and said "I did everything I could y-"

"You swore a vow!" Edd told him.

"Aye, I pledged my life to the Night's Watch, I gave my life!"

"For all the nights to come!" Edd added.

"They killed me Edd, my own brothers, you want me to stay here after that!?"

The horn at the front gate got blown, and Ygritte came in saying "Someone's at the gate..."

He looked at Edd, and they all went out together. When they got out there, there was a very tall woman who looked like a knight, a young man who looked like a squire, and a girl with red hair. He looked at the strange visitors, until the one with red hair turned around and looked up at him. _Sansa_ He thought.

Ygritte noticed the way he was looking at her, and obviously realized they knew each other. They all walked down the stairs and they stood back as he approached her. They stared at each other for a moment, unable to move. Then she ran into his arms, and they hugged so hard he could barely breathe. He thought he might have to cancel his trip with Sam.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

It felt nice to finally be indoors with warmth, and her brother again. He had changed so much since she last saw him. She noticed the Wildlings inside the castle, which was quite a surprise. But none of them attacked her, which wasn't their usual behavior.

She took a sip of the soup he'd made and asked "So... what've you done while you were here? I noticed Wildlings inside the courtyard."

He said "I was chosen lord commander of the Night's Watch. On my order... me, Edd, Tormund, Duncan, Ygritte and plenty of others all went to Hardhome to bring them down south. Half the men all hated me for it."

"Well, why did you do it?"

He sighed and said "Sansa... The free folk aren't all that's up there... so are the dead."

She wondered what he meant by that, and asked "The dead?"

"Do you remember those stories Old Nan used to tell us? The ones about the ice spiders, and grumpkins?"

She nodded and said "But those were just stories."

"Aye. The ice spiders and snarks were... but the others... the dead coming back to life"

"You mean the White Walkers?" She asked skeptical.

He paused and then said "When we were at Hardhome, there were skeletons raised from the ground that came back to kill us all. When we got as many free folk on boats as we could, the night king... he raised his arms and all the dead stood up."

He seemed honest in his voice, and he had no reason to lie about it. "Okay. I'll try to follow you here, but that still doesn't explain why you brought the Wildlings- or free folk, whichever you're calling them now, behind the Wall."

"It does. If I left them at Hardhome with the White Walkers, they'd have been turned into more of them. And that's where the real war is, between the living and the dead. And the free folk can help us when the real war begins."

She had doubts before, but now it explained a lot. "I suppose that breaks the vows the Night's Watch has. So I guess that makes you all free men considering."

"Aye... I was about to leave just a little while before you got here."

"Oh? Where were you going to go?"

"I was going to go to Oldtown, with Sam... but I'm not leaving now that you're here."

She smiled and asked "Right... so where will we go?"

"Well, I cant stay here, not after what happened. And Castle Black isn't a very good place for you to stay the rest of your life."

She thought about Winterfell, and said "There's only one place we can go... home."

He tilted his head and asked "What? Should we tell the Boltons to pack up and leave?"

"We'll take it back from them." She stood up from her seat.

Jon moved back in his seat and said "I don't have an army."

"How many Wildlings did you save?" She asked him.

"They didn't come here to serve me." He said weakly.

"They owe you their lives. You think they'll be safe here if Roose Bolton remains Warden of the North?"

"Sansa..." He tried to say.

"Winterfell is our home. It's ours. And Arya's, and Bran's, and Rickon's wherever they are, it belongs to our family. We have to fight for it." She said persistent.

"I'm tired of fighting!" He then got up from his seat and turned to her.

"It's all I've done since I left home. I've killed men of the Night's Watch, I've killed free folk, I've killed men I admire, I hanged a boy... younger than Bran. I fought... and I lost."

She stepped closer to him and said "If we don't take back the north, we'll never be safe. I want you to help me, but I'll do it myself if I have to."

He stepped back from her and looked at a table, then said "Of course I'm not gonna make you do it by yourself. But every time I keep fighting, and killing... it makes me lose part of myself. You haven't seen your friends die one by one when the free folk attacked Castle Black. I wanted to go to Oldtown and live peacefully."

She told him "I'm not saying we have to go tearing down every tower that ever harmed our family... but Winterfell is our home. The north will rally with us if we ask. I want you to help me, just this once. And then we can live at our home."

He paused for a moment and said "Alright... but when the time comes... I'm not ready for it now, not after what's happened."

"I can understand that."

He turned back to face her and said "C'mon, it's almost supper time, and I've still got some people to introduce you to."

She followed him, and they went to the mess hall. It was beginning to get pretty crowded. Podrick seemed to be getting quite comfortable, but Brienne seemed very suspicious. She didn't feel worried though. If anything were to take place, Jon would protect her, she was confident in that.

Jon brought her to a man of the Night's Watch and said "Edd, this is my sister, Sansa."

He stuck his hand out for a handshake and said "I was wondering why you were looking at her so strangely. For a minute there I thought Ygritte might be jealous of some past lover who came to see you. You do have a thing for girls with red hair."

She shook his hand and asked "Ygritte?"

Edd said "Oh, you haven't met her yet? She's his... uh... whatever you wanna call it."

"Thank you, Edd." He said with some hostility, and embarrassment in his tone. Edd laughed seeing the way he reacted.

She laughed as well and said "I think I'd like to meet this girl."

"Alright, I'll go find her." He said with a slight blush he tried to hide, and moved through the people looking for her.

"Anyone else I should meet?"

Edd turned his head and shouted "Sam, come over here!"

Sam walked up to them and said "What is it Edd?"

"This is Sansa, Jon's sister."

Sam smiled and said "How do you do, my lady?"

"I'm good, thank you."

"Jon's told me all about you. You seem like a fine person."

Soon, he came back with a Wildling, with red hair and said "Sansa, this is Ygritte."

"It's nice to finally meet you, he never told me he had a sister." Ygritte said.

"Oh really?" She looked to him with a fake angry stare.

"It never really came up." He explained.

The cook shouted from the cooking fire "Lunch is ready! One at a time or I'll have to force feed you all!"

Edd asked "What's cooked up today, Hobb!?"

"Venison!"

It seemed everyone was pleased with Venison. She hadn't eaten in a while, so just about anything sounded good at this point. They all sat down at some dinner tables. Brienne and Podrick also came over and sat down across from her. Edd came back with some Venison for everyone, and things seemed quite peaceful. As she was eating, a Wildling with a beard came over and sat down near Brienne. He began eating and looking at her with a strange stare, almost like he was hinting at something. She held back a laugh and continued eating as if she didn't notice.

Ygritte whispered to her "I think Tormund's 'n love"

They quietly laughed together. Soon, a Night's Watchman came in and said to Jon "A letter for you, lord commander."

He replied "I'm not lord commander anymore." But he took the letter anyway.

He opened it and looked at everyone. They looked at him curiously.

He read aloud "To the traitor and bastard, Jon Snow. You have allowed thousands of Wildlings past the wall. You have betrayed your own kind, you have betrayed the north. Winterfell is mine, bastard, come and see. Your brother Rickon is in my dungeon..."

She looked at him surprised. She had never seen Rickon when she was there, so it worried her more now. Ygritte looked quite concerned too.

He continued reading "His dire wolf's skin is on my floor, come and see. I want my bride back. Send her to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you and your Wildling lovers. Keep her from me, and I will slaughter every Wildling, man, woman, and babe living under your protection. You will watch as I skin them living, you-"

"Go on." She told him.

"It's just more of the same." He said, and began rolling up the letter, but she moved over and grabbed the letter from him.

She read aloud "You will watch as my soldiers take turns raping your sister, you will watch as my dogs devour your wild little brother, then I will spoon your eyes out from their sockets and let my dogs do the rest, come and see. Ramsay Bolton, lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North." She put the letter down.

"Lord of Winterfell, and Warden of the North?" Jon said.

"His father's dead. He killed him, and now he has Rickon."

"We don't know that."

"Yes we do." She said.

"How many men does he have in his army?" Tormund asked.

She thought back and said "I heard him say five thousand once when he was talking about Stannis and his attack."

Jon turned to Tormund and asked "How many do you have?"

"That can march and fight? Two thousand. The rest are children and old people."

He lowered his head in worry.

"You're the last son of the true warden of the north, the other houses will fight for you if you ask."

He stayed silent thinking, and she grabbed his hand and said "A monster has taken our home, and our brother. We have to go back to Winterfell and save them both."

Ygritte looked to him and said "You know I'd do anything to help you, just say so."

He paused, and nodded in silence. But still looked very concerned as to how he would fight them.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He watched Sam get on the cart with Gilly. It was sad watching him go, this may be the last time they ever see each other again. Sam looked back at him and waved, and he waved back. They rode out of Castle Black, and it left him saddened. But perhaps it was for the best, he wouldn't fare well fighting against Ramsay Bolton. He went inside and looked at Davos, he had set up a map on the table, and layed down marked stones for the houses. He sighed looking over it.

"I imagine the White Walkers won't wait for us to finish our war..." He placed a few stones beyond the Wall.

"We can't defend the north from the White Walkers, and the south from the Boltons. If we want to survive, we need to take Winterfell, and to take Winterfell, we need more men." He threw one of the stones across the table.

Davos looked over it and said "Aside from the Starks, and the Boltons, the most powerful houses in the north. Are the Karstarks, the Umbers, and the Manderlys'. The Umbers, and the Karstarks have already declared for the Boltons, so were not doing so well there." He moved the stones to join with the Bolton's stones.

"The Umbers gave Rickon to our enemies, they can hang. But the Karstarks declared for Ramsay without knowing they had another choice."

"Uh, I beg your pardon, my lady, but they know that a Stark beheaded their father. I don't think we can count on them either." Davos told her.

"How well do you know the north, Ser Davos?" Sansa asked.

"A precious little, my lady." He replied.

"My father said northerners are different. More loyal, more suspicious of outsiders." She told him.

"They may well be loyal. But how many rose up against the Boltons when they betrayed your family?"

Sansa went silent and Davos said "I may not know the north, but I know men. They're more or less the same in any corner of the world, and even the bravest of them don't want to see their wives and children skinned for a lost cause. If Jon's gonna convince them to fight beside him, he needs to convince them it's a fight they can win."

He got an idea and said "There are more than three other houses in the north. Glover, Mormont, Cerwyn, Mason, Hornwood, two dozen more. Together they equal all the others. We can start small, and build."

"The north remembers." Sansa said. "They remember the Stark name, they'll risk everything for it from White Harbor to Ramsay's own door."

"I don't doubt it. But Jon doesn't have the Stark name." Davos said.

"No, but I do." Sansa said. "Jon is every bit Ned Stark's son as Ramsay is Roose Bolton's. And there's also the Tullys', they're not northern, but they'll back us against the Boltons without question."

"I didn't know the Tullys' still had an army." Davos mentioned.

"My uncle, the Blackfish has reformed it and retaken Riverrun."

He looked to her and asked "How'd you know that?"

"Ramsay recieved a raven before I escaped Winterfell." She told him.

"That's good. The Blackfish is a legend, his support will mean a great deal. Stark, Tully, a few more houses, and this will start to look like a winning side."

"I'll talk to Brienne about getting the Blackfish here." She got up and Brienne got up too, following her.

He left the planning room and went to the lord commander's room to prepare. Ygritte entered and he looked back at her.

"I came to help you prepare." She said.

"Thanks..."

She came over and packed some food into a satchel. As she packed, she asked "Are you feelin' alright? That letter cant've been good."

He was worried. Ramsay Bolton outnumbered them, and crushed Stannis's army. "He is the bastard son of Roose Bolton, who killed my brother. And he killed Stannis Baratheon's entire army, and he outnumbers us by three thousand."

She sighed and said "Aye, he's a fuckin' prick from what I've heard. But were going to kill them and take Winterfell back. Remember how you told me you might show it to me one day?"

"That was before I knew the Boltons took it..."

"So what? From what I've been told, that was your home. You need to take it back, and you need to take it back now. Especially for your brother Rickon."

He sighed and said "I know... I just don't know if I'm ready."

"I'll help you. All of us will."

She put the last bit of food in, and closed the satchel shut. She walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, and then walked out. He sighed and grabbed the satchel, then put a cloak on. He went outside and saw people ready to leave. Melisandre and Davos were ready on horses, and Ygritte was getting on one. He came down to Sansa and saw she had a Stark dress on her, and a new cloak.

"New dress." He mentioned.

"I made it myself, do you like it?"

"Yes, it..." It started to bring him back memories of when he was on the boat with Ygritte and nearly laughed. He finished his sentence saying "I like the wolf bit."

"Good, because I made this for you." She handed him a cloak.

He took it and looked over it. It had a dire wolf on one of the straps, and looked pretty good to him.

"I made it like the one father used to wear... as close as I can remember."

"Thank you, Sansa."

He hung up the old cloak nearby and put the new one on. Edd came over and looked at him.

"Don't knock it down while I'm gone." He said jokingly about the wall.

"I'll do m' best."

They hugged each other and he said "Good luck."

He nodded and went over to climb on his horse. Sansa got on hers, and the gates to Castle Black opened. He took the lead and rode his horse out first. Everyone followed him, and he kept his confidence high. Even if he was still worried deep down, he made sure not to show it.


	8. Chapter 8: The Lord of Light

_**Author's note: Did it in a week. :)**_

 _ **Enjoy chapter 8**_

* * *

Brienne

* * *

When she arrived at Riverrun, there were plenty of armed Lannister soliders. It was troubling seeing all of them preparing a siege on the castle.

"Looks like a siege my lady." Podrick said.

"You have a keen military mind, Pod." She said sarcastically.

As she was looking at them, she saw Jaime riding on a horse in the camp. She hadn't seen him in so long, and the sword she had was given to her by him. She felt her heart beat a little quicker. But she wasn't paying much attention to anything else, and a bunch of Lannister guards rode up on horseback ordering her "State your business!"

She told them "My name is Brienne of Tarth. Please inform Ser Jaime Lannister 'I've come to speak with him.' Tell him 'I have his sword.'"

The soldiers looked at each other and considered the point. One of them left to tell Jaime, and the others escorted her and Podrick into the camp under guard. They waited outside his tent, until one of them told her she could enter. She went inside and saw Jaime in a red Lannister uniform.

"Brienne of Tarth... Been a while since I last saw you." He said.

"I've come here on behalf of Sansa Stark." She told him.

"Sansa? I never thought you'd find her. I just assumed Sansa was dead."

"Why would you assume that?" She asked.

"In my experience, girls like her don't live very long."

"I don't think you know many girls like her." She defended.

"Well I'm proud of you. I am, you fulfilled your oath to Catelyn Stark against all odds. Of course my sister wants Sansa dead. The girl's still a suspect in Joffrey's murder, so there's that complication... what the hell are you doing here?" He asked.

"I've come for the Blackfish."

"You're welcome to have him."

He seemed a little too ready to give him up.

"Lady Sansa desires to take back her ancestral seat back from the Boltons and assume her rightful position as Lady of Winterfell."

"With what army does she plan on taking Winterfell?" He asked.

"The Tully army."

"They're a bit occupied at the moment... I was sent here to reclaim Riverrun currently defended by the Tully rebels, so you can see the conundrum." He said.

"The Tullys are rebels because they're fighting for their home." She defended.

"Riverrun was granted to the Freys by royal decree."

"As a reward for betraying Robb Stark and his Family!"

"Exactly."

She paused hearing him so confident in himself. He sounded so sure he was doing the right thing.

Eventually he said "We shouldn't argue about politics."

"You're a knight, Ser Jaime. I know there is honor in you. I've seen it mysel-"

"I'm a Lannister, don't ask me to betray my own house."

"I do no such thing. Take Riverrun without bloodshed. Ride south with your mission complete, and your army intact."

"What do you propose?" He asked.

"Allow me to enter Riverrun under a flag of truce. Let me try to persuade the Blackfish to give up the castle."

"Why would he abandon his ancestral home?"

"Because you'll allow him to lead the Tully forces safely north."

He sighed and said "Have you ever met the Blackfish?"

She paused not wanting him to prove her wrong. She needed his cooperation, but she simply never met him.

"No."

"He's even more stubborn than you are."

She didn't know whether to take it as a compliment, or insult.

"Alright, try to talk some sense into the old goat. He wont listen, but his men might. Not everyone wants to die for someone else's home."

"I need your word. If I persuade him to surrender, you'll grant him safe passage north."

He nodded and said "You have my word. You have until nigthtfall."

She nodded, and then thought about what she said to the guards so she could have this meeting. She began taking off her scabbard to Oathkeeper and held it out for him. He stepped over and sighed

"You gave it to me for a purpose, I've achieved that purpose."

He smiled and said "It's yours. It will always be yours."

She felt her heart beating faster again. She began walking out of the tent but turned back saying "One last thing, Ser Jaime."

"Yes, Lady Brienne?" He asked.

"Should I fail to persuade the Blackfish to surrender, and if you attack the castle, honor compels me to fight for Sansa's kin."

"Of course it does." He said.

"To fight you..."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He said.

They fell silent as they looked at each other. She wanted to say more, but she couldn't. She forced herself to leave the tent before she did anything she might regret later.

* * *

Ygritte

* * *

The time had come for them to get the rest of the free folk to join them in the war to come. She figured they would quickly join up with him, willing to fight. However, that didn't exactly seem the case this time.

"We said we'd fight with you king crow, when the time comes, but these aren't White Walkers, this isn't an army of the dead, this isn't our fight." One male leader said.

"There's also the wounded to think about. I got damn lucky to get out of Hardhome, imagine tending even more wounded." Karsi said.

"If it weren't for him, none of us would be here. All of you would be meat in the Night King's army, and I'd be a pile of charred bones, just like Mance." Tormund said.

"Remember Mance's camp? It stretched all the way to the horizon, and look at us now, look what's left of us, and if we lose this, we're gone. Dozens of tribes, hundreds of generations, 'd be like we were never there at all. We'll be the last of the free folk." The man said.

"This is your fight though. And you don't have to be the last. Ramsay Bolton wants to kill all of us, he sent us a letter at Castle Black. He said 'I will slaughter all of you and your Wildling lovers,' are we just gonna let him?" She said.

She pointed to Jon and said "Jon Snow needs us just as much as we need him. If we all fight together, we can kill that no good bastard and show all the southern kings were a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention we'd all have a bloody fuckin' castle to live in, or nearby."

"I know you don't want to fight. I don't want to make you. It's not fair, it's not what we agreed to, but it's where were at. If we don't fight, we die." Jon said.

The free folk began considering their points.

"The crows killed him, because he spoke for the free folk when no other southerners would. He died for us. If were not willing to do the same for him, were cowards. And if that's what we are, we deserve to be the last of the free folk." Tormund said.

She saw Wun Wun stand up and look at Jon. Everyone looked up at him wondering what he would do, and then he said "Snow." And walked off.

They looked to the other free folk, and the man looked to the other leaders, and they nodded. He came over to Jon and held his hand out, he shook his hand and then the leader walked off. Tormund looked to Jon quite pleased.

"Are you sure they'll come?" Jon asked.

"Were not clever like you southerners. When we say something, we'll do it." Tormund said.

"Uh, yeah, well that one was. As far as I knew, handshaking was a southerner thing." She said.

Jon laughed a little and Tormund said "Maybe this land is having an effect on them..."

Tormund walked back to the free folk's camp, and she went with Jon and Sansa to theirs.

"Your people aren't as bad as the stories make you out to be." Sansa said.

"Aye, were worse, just ask Jon 'ere about the things Tormund threatened." She joked.

"Davos." Jon called.

Davos came over and asked "Yes?

"The Manderlys' aren't responding to the ravens... I need you to go there and secure some fighting men. Take the ships Stannis lent us at Eastwatch and go there as quickly as you can, then come back."

"Are you sure? If I don't convince them, I may be coming back with nothing."

"The chance of you coming back with something is worth it." Jon told him.

Davos grew quiet, then said "I'll send a raven informing you as soon as I can."

He then walked off, and they all went into their tents. Sansa went to her table and picked up a letter.

"What's it say this time?" Jon asked doubtful of anything good.

"It's from Brienne... it says she failed."

* * *

The Red Priest

* * *

Riding his horse, he began chasing Lem down. Lem rode quickly, along with three other men their own horses, until the others in their group cut them off and trapped them from the front. He quickly rode up and drew his sword saying "It's over. Submit and this will end painlessly."

The rest of the men kept arrows trained on them. One drew a sword, and was shot off his horse. When he hit the ground he started coughing up blood and choking on it, he asked "Want to try again?"

The men they chased raised their hands up in surrender, and the others took their swords, and forced them to dismount.

"How many was it Beric?" He asked.

"I'm still not sure. It's hard to say, but I'm quite sure it took more than four men to ruin the Sept. We'll set up camp here, hang the ones we have." Beric replied.

He dismounted his horse, and the others began getting some ropes and tying them up on a tree. They got some stump stools, and forced them to stand on it. He thought it was going rather quickly, however it was dangerous to leave them alive when they knew they would be executed. He figured they would probably try to escape in the night. Once they were all on stumps, he was about to go and get his prayer book to send them on his way, but when he turned he saw Sandor Clegane standing there watching them.

"Clegane? The fuck you doing here?" He asked.

"Chasing them, you?"

"Hanging them." He said cheerfully to add some humor into the tension.

"Any particular reason?" Sandor asked.

"They're our men, or they were. They attacked a nearby Sept and murdered the villagers. Why do you want them?" Beric asked.

"Same reason. I was helping build it, they killed a friend of mine."

He had trouble believing the Hound had anything to do with religion.

"You have friends?" He asked.

"Not anymore. They're mine." He got an angry face and walked toward them with an axe.

"This is the brotherhood's good name they've dragged through the dirt." Beric told him.

"Fuck your name, they're mine. Killed you once before, didn't I? And happy to do it again." The Hound said.

One of the brothers drew an arrow and pointed it at Sandor.

Sandor told him without even turning away from looking at Beric "Drop that arrow you bloody girl. Tougher girls than you've tried to kill me."

He then began walking toward the man with the bow, and Beric said "You can have one of them."

The Hound looked at them and then said "Two."

Beric looked back at him, and he nodded willing to let him hang them. Beric turned back to Sandor and nodded. He came over to one of the hanging men, and raised his axe in the air and prepared to swing, but he grabbed it and stopped him.

He told him "No, no, no. Were not butchers, we hang them."

"Hanging!? All over in an instant, where's the punishment in that?" He asked angry.

"They die." He rationalized with the Him.

"We all bloody die, 'cept this one here." Sandor turned back and looked at Beric.

"I'll only gut one of them." He said before raising the axe again, but Beric interrupted saying "No."

Sandor looked back at him as if he were ridiculous, and asked "Chop off one hand."

"We gave you two, out of three in respect for you loss. That's generous." Beric told him.

"Bunch of Nancies." He said as he threw down his axe.

"There was a time I would've killed all seven of you just to gut these three."

"You're getting old, Clegane." He told him.

"He's not." Sandor said as he kicked the stump out from underneath his feet. He then moved to the next one and kicked the stump out from underneath Lem. Beric kicked the last stump out from underneath the other one.

Sandor then asked "Got anything to eat?"

He smiled and said "Right this way."

He followed them as they went near a river and set up a campfire. They cooked the meat from a rabbit, and sprinkled some pepper and ginger on it. He left it on the fire and went to get some wine.

When he came back, he saw the Hound digging in. "Enjoying yourself?" He asked.

"I would've preferred chicken." He replied.

"You see, I prefer a steak with diced tomatoes on it for a nice blend."

"Tomatoes? The fuck kinda blend is that?" Sandor asked.

"A bit of fruit, mixed with a bit of meat, a glass of wine, what better way to enjoy life?"

He handed him his pouch of wine to let him have a sip.

"You should join us, we could use you." Beric said.

"I tried joining, didn't work out too well." Sandor replied.

"Clegane, were here for a reason. The Lord of Light is keeping him alive for a reason, he gave a failed drunk priest the power to bring him back for a reason, we are part of something larger than ourselves." He told him.

"Lots of horrible shit in this world gets done for something larger than ourselves." Sandor said.

Sandor handed him back his pouch of wine, and got up, then walked to the river.

"Cold winds are rising in the north." Beric started.

Sandor began pissing down stream into the river.

"And you're going to go stop them." The Hound said almost mockingly.

"We need good men to help us." Beric told him.

"Last time you saw me, you wanted to execute me."

He finished up his business and began walking back toward his seat.

"True enough. But the Lord of Light gave you the power to defeat me, why?"

He laughed and said "I beat you because I'm better than you, Beric. I was better than you when you started yammering on about the lord, and I'm better than you now."

"Aye, you're probably right. You're a fighter, you were born a fighter, you walked away from the fight, how did that go?" Beric asked.

The Hound stayed quiet, and Beric said "Good and bad, young and old, the things were fighting will destroy them all alike. You can still help a lot more than you've harmed, Clegane, it's not too late for you." Beric told him.

"You don't have to be seen as a monster by everyone. It may be I drank a little too much now that I'm looking at you, but I still see good in you. Help us." He told Sandor.

He could tell The Hound was beginning to consider his request.

"I can give you some chicken if that'll do it." He said jokingly.

"Fuck off, Thoros. I cant be bought that easily. I'll think about it." Sandor replied in a more neutral manner.

* * *

Davos

* * *

When he finally arrived at White Harbor, things were still freezing cold. However there was no ice, or snow. Unlike it did Stannis. As he was getting off his ship, he saw war galleys scattering the ports. It seemed like should the time come, he would be able to invade a city by coast. He wondered if the Lannisters had given him those ships. He had known that Wyman Manderly had been trying to solidify things between his house and the crown, so getting him to join Jon would be difficult. It took a few days, but eventually he got to have a council meeting with them.

He entered the Merman's court and saw Wyman on his seat, along with his maester.

His maester started by saying "You are addressing lord Wyman Manderly, of White Harbor."

He bowed in respect for him. Had he still been serving Stannis as hand of the king, it would have been questionable for him to even do a bow.

"Thank you for having me my lord."

"mm, yes, tell me why you are here."

He was about to explain, but he noticed Freys surrounding him. Speaking his plans in front of them would be treacherous, they would likely inform others of anything he was going to do.

"My lord, if I may ask for us to have some privacy, away from any other soldiers."

A Frey said "We have the right to be here, especially considering how fragile the peace is between him and the southern houses."

"He is right Lord Davos- that is if I can even call you a lord anymore. I heard your king was slain by Ramsay Bolton himself at Winterfell."

"It is true... however, the north needs you greatly. And Jon Snow does."

"Jon Snow, the name of a traitorous bastard." The Frey said.

"Go on Davos, what does Jon Snow need?" Wyman told him.

"Jon Snow wishes to reclaim Winterfell from the Boltons. I find it surprising you're sitting here dining with some of the Freys here now, who were responsible for the Red Wedding."

"The Red Wedding was to prevent a further tragedy down the line. You see, Robb Stark and his northern men were monsters, men who would turn from human to wolf. Robb Stark dared to kill Walder Frey and take his castle during the wedding. Luckily we stopped him before he and his men could cause a brutal murder. He tried to kill me, but Wendel stepped forward and died to save me instead." The Frey said.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you saying that Robb Stark killed Lord Wyman's son?" He asked.

"Yes, and many more. Him and his northmen even bit some of my brothers, and my son, Tytos. He turned them all into Wargs, it's well known that a bite can do that. The least we had time to do, was to put them down before they could turn."

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Ser Jared of House Frey."

"Jared of House Frey, I name you a liar."

Jared got up and said "You accuse me of lying in front of our lord? How about you back that up if you have the stones." he rested his hand on the pommel of his sword.

"Enough, I will not have bloodshed today in this court. Stop avoiding the question Lord Davos, what does Jon Snow want?" The lord persisted.

He collected himself and said "Jon Snow wishes for your fighting men, to take back the north from House Bolton."

"He asks you to betray the warden of the north." Jared said.

"I have given my loyalty to House Bolton, I will not risk breaking that loyalty." Wyman told him.

"But my lord, Ramsay Bolton is-" He tried to say.

"Silence, Lord Davos. I will not have you speak of these traitorous thoughts in my court. Ser Marlon, escort Lord Davos to the Wolf's Den. I will be there when I am ready to present the execution."

A couple of Freys laughed seeing him get presented with execution. Ser Marlon grabbed him, and forced him out of the room. He was quite rough, and made him trip over himself a couple times.

"Lord Manderly, you're making a big mistake, I assure you!" He pleaded.

"The only mistake here, was you showing up in my court, asking me to betray my Warden of the North!" The lord said.

He was forced to walk all the way to the Wolf's Den cells. Ser Marlon shoved him into a cell and slammed the door.

 _I've really ballsed it up this time. What will Jon do without me?_

* * *

Bran

* * *

He was seeing all different visions going so fast he could barely make them out. He saw White Walkers killing Wildlings, and his brother Jon fighting them. He saw an old man on the Iron Throne, and Wildfire being burned. He saw a bloody hand, and a sunset on a snowy mountain. He then saw Wights chasing himself and Meera in the forest, and then woke up. Meera was standing over him looking worried.

"Meera... They found us." He told her.

He could hear the sounds of Wights in the forest, and she looked like she could too. She fell on to him and said "I'm so sorry!"

He held her closely to him, and afterward she moved back up and pulled out a dagger. He looked around them, but a hooded figure on a horse suddenly knocked down a Wight, and broke all its bones off. The hooded figured let down a spiked ball on a chain, and it caught on fire. The person on the horse rode toward the Wights, and hit one with the chain, catching it on fire. The person then moved to another Wight, and slammed it into a tree, breaking all the bones off of it, rendering it immobile. They then stabbed a scythe into a Wight, and dragged it across the ground until all its bones broke off as well.

They then rode up to them, and a man's voice said "Come with me, now."

Meera looked around a bit suspicious of him, and the man told them "The dead don't rest."

The man picked him up and pulled him on to his horse, and then grabbed Meera, and pulled her on too. The man rode the horse away from the Wights for quite a while. After a few hours, or that's how long he thought they rode, he stopped. Slowing the horse down in the woods. His vision began to go hazy, and he started seeing visions agian. He saw his brother Robb getting stabbed, and his mother's throat being slit. He also saw himself falling off the tower which broke his legs.

He soon woke up again, and saw Meera come over quickly, and hold him. He thought about his crush on her, and wondered if she had felt the same way. However he could not tell her now, he had not the courage.

He saw the man was still there, and he said "When I last saw you, you were a boy, fearless boy, enough to climb the castle towers."

"Who are you?" He asked him.

The man started to undo his hood, and revealed his face to him. He was surprised when he saw Benjen's face.

"Uncle Bnejen." He said. "The last letter Jon wrote me said you'd been lost beyond the wall."

"I lead a ranging party deep into the north to find White Walkers, they found us. A White Walker stabbed me in the gut with a sword of ice, left me there to die, to turn. The Children found me, stopped the Walker's magic from taking hold."

"How?" He desperately wanted to know, especially since it might've been able to cure a lot of the dead people.

"The same way the made the Walkers in the first place, you saw it yourself."

"Dragonglass. A shard of Dragonglass plunged into your heart."

Benjen nodded and said "You are the three eyed raven now.

"I didn't have time to learn, I cant control anything." He told him.

He got up and said "You must learn to control it, before the Night King comes."

He bent down and handed him a cup of rabbit's blood and said "Here, drink."

He took the cup and took a sip. The blood tasted quite awful, but it kept him warm. He didn't quite understand if that was all the blood was for, but he trusted Benjen.

"One way or another, he will find his way to the world of men. And when he does, you will be there waiting for him. And you will be ready."

He sighed and put the cup down. He slowly faded himself out again. All he saw was blackness for a while, but then he started seeing light. There was a castle, and a bunch of people surrounding the doors to it. He walked to the men, and they looked like Lannister soldiers. They smashed in the door with a wooden ram. A few of the Lannister soldiers ran in, and shot some other men inside who also looked Lannister. He immediately realized he was at Castamere. The men inside fell down with arrows in their chests, and Tywin Lannister walked inside.

Lord Reyne stood up from his throne and looked at him.

Tywin said "Lord Reyne, it's over. Submit, and present yourself for execution."

"Never. I was chosen lord of this castle, and I will fight to the end for it. People will sing songs about how I held this castle" He drew his sword.

Tywin took a crossbow from a soldier and shot Lord Reyne in his leg. He knelt down, and a Lannister grabbed his sword, and two others held him down.

"You fucking coward! You're just as weak as your father, can't even fight me sword to sword!"

"Songs may be sung about you, Lord Reyne. But they will not be in your honor, if anything, you will serve as a reminder of what happens when you try to fight House Lannister." Tywin told him.

Tywin drew a sword and raised it high, then took Lord Reyne's head from his shoulders. He wiped the blood off on the body's coat, then sheathed the sword.

"What do you command of us now Lord Tywin?" A soldier asked.

"Burn the castle to the ground." He told the soldier.

The soldier nodded and grabbed a torch from off the wall, and then set fire to one of the rugs. The other men set fire to anything wooden. Tywin walked out with his men and the entrance collapsed behind them. They got on horses and left the castle. This was where Tywin Lannister first made his name known.


	9. Chapter 9: We Do Not Sow

_**Author's note: This was annoying as hell. So, because I don't like writing on notepad or Microsoft word pad, I use the copy and paste tool within this website. So, I decided I was going to take a short break since I went 3 straight hours while writing. So, obviously I'd hit the save button right? That way I could save it as a document. Unfortunately, it decided that was too easy, and told me I needed to be logged in to do that, even though I was already logged in. So I re-logged in, and all of it was gone.**_

 _ **Please for the love of god, someone tell the people who made this website not to log me out when I hit the save button. And this could happen to someone else who also writes the way I do :/**_

 _ **Anyway, I just felt like mentioning this to let you know how committed I am to this, since I rewrote everything back that I could. I couldn't remember everything, but I changed a couple scenes and added some better ones in the process of rewriting.**_

 _ **Okay, enough self-pity. Enjoy chapter 9**_

* * *

Davos

* * *

He woke up inside his cell. He had been told plenty of times by the guards of how he was a dead man, every time they came with his meals. As he watched, a man came to him with a torch. He looked to who it was, and someone opened the cell door. He stood up and hugged the wall, wondering if this was the man they'd sent to bring him to execution.

"Come with me, Ser Davos."

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Please, there is not much time, for Davos is a dead man."

It was unusual for a guard to have been telling him he was a dead man, to 'please' come with him. He decided to follow him, since he was marked for death anyway, and they walked through the darkness of the Wolf's den. The man lead them through a dark hallways, and secret passages hidden behind bricks, and furniture. They walked up some stairs until they came to a more well lit room. He saw Wyman Manderly waiting at the top and wondered why the man had brought him there.

"Ser Davos." The lord said.

"Why did this man bring me here?" He asked.

"That is Lord Robett, of House Glover." Wyman stated.

He was a little surprised. He had thought he was at his house, and Jon would try to get his fighting men. "Apologies for not formally addressing you, my lord." He told him.

Lord Glover just gave a weak smile.

"So what do you plan to do now? I don't suppose you went through all the trouble of bringing me here to execute me." He stated.

"Execute you? Just because I dine with Jared of House Frey, and I follow the rules made by the Lannisters, doesn't mean I've forgotten. The North remembers, Ser Davos, and the mummer's farce is almost done. I've been forced to answer to House Bolton after they killed Robb Stark, and murdered my sons."

"And you told them you'd have me killed so no one would suspect you of treason." He finished his sentence.

"Exactly. My true allegiance lay with House Stark, and so does Lord Glover's. Here's what I want in return, Ser Davos. I'll give you my galleys, and you take my men with you into the battle against Ramsay Bolton. My men will wear no shields, and carry no banners. This meeting, and the men I give you, never happened." Lord Wyman said.

"Lord Ramsay is a Traitorous bastard. We can never trust him to be our Warden of the North, not when he butchers our own northern people. I'll be traveling with you, we'll go to my House, get as many of my men as we can, and join your forces with Jon Snow." Lord Robbet said with confidence.

"As far as you know, this meeting never happened, and you're already dead. If you manage to succeed in taking Winterfell, do not send ravens or courier boys. We may only speak in secret. In person. Understand?" Wyman asked.

"Yes, I understand my lord. You seemed to have gotten this plan well thought out, I can only give you my gratitude, and I will assure you that we will succeed in taking Winterfell. And if we don't, Lord Bolton will never even know you took part." He appreciated his trust.

"Lord Robbet, take Ser Davos to the galleys, along with eight hundred men. Get Davos on first, then bring the rest in the daylight. Kill any of the Freys that suspect you of doing anything wrong, and bring their bodies on the galley, and then dump them when you sail across the Narrow sea north." Wyman said.

Lord Robbet nodded, and grabbed Davos by his arm and they went back down the steps they came.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

Jon was looking restless walking through his camp. They hadn't received a letter from Davos, and it had been quite a while since he should have arrived. They had only gotten the support of the Hornwoods, Masons and Mormonts. Lord Glover was no where to be found in his castle, but there was still House Cerwyn.

"Jon, You need to get some sleep. We have a few hours to spare." She told him.

"How can I?" Jon started. "We've gotten only the Hornwoods, the Masons, the Mormonts, and who else? Please tell me, because there's still the Cerwyns, the Manderlys, the Forresters, The Reeds, and the Glovers. All of them who either can't, or won't back us."

"I know! But it can wait, you can't think clearly when you're tired." She said.

"I can get a northern drink that'll knock 'em right out." Ygritte said.

He sighed, and then a couple of footsteps started walking outside, and some voices were talking. She turned toward the tent entrance, looking in the direction where it came from, and then looked back to Jon. Jon got up, and Ygritte followed him. She came out quickly after and there were a few Wildlings gathered around some people. Once they got there, they saw Brienne and Podrick with her uncle Brynden. She was quite surprised, given the letter that said she'd failed.

"Uncle Brynden." She said.

She walked up and hugged him. He hugged her lightly back and said "I thought you'd died, Brienne sent me a raven saying she'd failed."

"We both failed..." He said morbidly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"The army I had taken was forced to surrender to the Lannisters when my nephew, Edmure came and took the castle as his own. And now I'm the damn coward running from every damn battle ever fought."

She fell a bit more quiet and looked to Jon.

"How many men did you have...?" She asked Brynden.

"It doesn't matter... it wouldn't have been enough to make a difference anyway."

"Well, you can help us plan at the very least." Jon said.

"Is that your brother?"

Sansa nodded and he said "You should quit now while you still can. If you're lucky, you can get to a castle and hold it down for as long as you can."

"We can't just go back and let him trap us in a castle, that's exactly what he wants." Jon told him.

"You want your home back, I understand, but I just lost my home to the goddamn Lannisters. It's time you consider leaving it." Brynden said.

"Ramsay Bolton has Rickon, our brother! We can't just leave him." Jon told him.

The Blackfish went quiet for a moment, and then said "Fine, if you're so serous about this, I'll help out however I can. Is there somewhere we can discuss these plans of yours?"

They lead him back into their tent with the battle plans. Jon said "We have the Masons, the Hornwoods and the Mormonts. The Boltons have the Umbers and the Karstarks."

"So why don't you get House Manderly?" He asked.

"Ser Davos is working on acquiring them for us, but we can't get the Glovers since their lord went missing weeks ago." Jon replied.

"So how many men have you gotten in all?" Brynden asked.

"Two thousand." Jon answered.

"And how many do the Boltons have?"

"...Five thousand."

"You need to wait boy, you're going to all get slaughtered if you go."

"We can't wait. If we don't go now, Ramsay Bolton will try something, I know he will. Melisandre had said that he camp into this camp during the night and set the tents on fire! We can't risk that happening twice."

"Do you need me to tell you what happened to your brother when he sent two thousand men up against an army stronger than his own?"

Jon paused, and Brynden said "He sent two thousand men to raid a Lannister camp all on their own, and the Lannisters slaughtered every one of them. And what was it all for? Jaime Lannister. And what did my niece do in the end? Let go the only valuable prisoner they had. And then they all died. Don't make the same mistake poor Robb did."

"...We won't." Sansa added.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He rode horses with the other lords who had joined him into the middle of the battle grounds. It was time to meet Ramsay Bolton. Once he got there, he saw Ramsay coming over the top of a small hill. He had Smalljon Umber, and Harald Karstark with him. And he had brought Lyanna Mormont, Tormund, Brynden, Ygritte, and Sansa.

As Ramsay was approaching, he whispered to Sansa "You know, you don't have to do this."

She then told him "Yes I do."

Once Ramsay rode up to them, he said "My beloved wife, I've missed you terribly. Thank you for returning Lady Bolton safely. Now, dismount and kneel before me. Surrender your army, and proclaim me the true lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. I will pardon you for deserting the Night's Watch, I will pardon these treasonous lords for betraying my house."

Everyone stayed silent, and Ramsay spoke again saying "Come, bastard. You don't have the men, you don't have the horses, and you don't have Winterfell. Why lead those poor souls into slaughter? There's no need for a battle. Get off your horse, and kneel. I am a man of mercy."

He paused, and eventually said "You're right, there's no need for a battle. Thousands of men don't need to die, only one of us. Lets end this the old way, you, against me."

Ramsay paused, and then laughed a bit. "I keep hearing stories about you, bastard. the way people in the north talk about you, you're the greatest swordsman who ever walked. Maybe you are that good, maybe not. I don't know if I'd beat you, but I do know that my army will beat yours. I have six thousand men, you have... what? Half that? Not even?"

"Aye, you have the numbers. Will your men want to fight for you when they hear you wouldn't fight for them?" He asked.

Ramsay paused in silence for a moment, and then gave a small laugh. He pointed his finger at him and said "He's good, very good. Tell me, will you let your little brother die because you're too proud to surrender?"

"How do we know you have Rickon?" Sansa asked.

Ramsay smirked, and then looked to Smalljon. Smalljon pulled out a satchel and pulled Shaggy dog's head out of it, and then threw it to the ground in between them. Ramsay then said "Now, if you-"

Only to be interrupted by Sansa, saying "You're going to die tomorrow Lord Bolton, sleep well."

She then turned her horse and began riding back to camp.

"She's a fine woman, your sister. I look forward to having her back into my bed." Ramsay said.

"And you're all fine looking men. My dogs are desperate to meet you, I haven't fed them for seven days, they're ravenous! I wonder which parts they'll try first. Your eyes? Your balls!? We'll find out soon enough. In the morning then, bastard."

He stared at him tensely, seeing how evil he was. And he was able to feel how awful his presence felt to be around. Thankfully, he didn't have to be there long, and Ramsay turned his horse and rode away. He turned his own horse, and began riding back to camp with the others he'd brought. And Ygritte said "Damn I want to kill him."

Once he got back to camp, he saw hundreds of men and hundreds of horses all parked in their camp. He quickly sped up his horse as soon as he noticed, and as he was getting closer, he saw Davos and someone else at the head of them.

"Ser Davos!" He called out as he rode up to him.

"Apologies for being late. I've brought one thousand horses, and one thousand men to ride them. Including, Lord Robbet Glover." Davos said.

He looked at the man next to him, and it was Robbet Glover. "How did you find him? We went to the castle and he wasn't there."

"I believe, he found me, if I recall it correctly."

"Thank you, both of you."

Lord Robbet nodded with a light smile, and Davos asked "So, what've I missed?"

* * *

Davos

* * *

As he looked over the plans, he thought about his allies. Even though they were outnumbered, the horses and army he'd brought could win it if used carefully.

"He knows the north is watching. If the other northern houses since weakness on his part, they'll stop fearing him. He can't have that, fear is his power."

"It's also his weakness." Jon said. "His men don't want to fight for him, they're forced to fight for him. If they feel the tide turning..."

"It's not his men that worry me, it's his horses. I know what mounted knights can do to us, you and Stannis cut through us like piss through snow." Tormund said.

"We can dig in trenches along our flanks, and they wont be able to hit us the way Stannis hit you." Jon suggested.

"That is of course if you want to die." The Blackfish said.

Everyone turned and looked at him and said "Your trenches may stop horses, but I saw a hill while we were talking to Ramsay Bolton, his arrows will hit you from above, and you'll all be done for. What you need to do, is take that army Ser Davos just brought, and ride them through the right side of the forest here."

The Blackfish pointed out an area to the right of the battlefield that had trees still.

"Then, you wait for Ramsay Bolton to charge you right here."

He pointed at the middle of their army.

"Your Wildlings will hold spears and throw them at the horses once they're close enough, if they can aim worth a stream of piss. Yes, men will still probably die, but you'll have his army trapped between your own, and the horses that emerge from the forces, and fuck them up from behind. Lord Robbet will decide when to move in with the army in the trees, and I will command your archers." The Blackfish finished.

"This... could actually work." He said. "If we keep our patience, Lord Bolton will ride right into our trap."

"Ramsay doesn't fall into traps, he lays them." Sansa said.

"Oh really? Then what would you have us do? Ride right into his?" The Blackfish said with some hostility.

"No, no, of course not. It's just that-"

"This is the only plan that works. I tried to tell you all to wait, I said to wait but you got yourselves into a mess that I'm trying to get you out of."

"Brynden!" Jon shouted.

The Blackfish sighed and said "Fine. What do you want to do?"

"His plan was a good one, we'll work with it, but we can't be fighting among ourselves, that's probably what Ramsay wants. This is what we'll go with. In the meantime, you should all get some rest. If something changes, I'll come get you." Jon said.

"Sleep as best you can, Jon Snow. We'll need you at your best tomorrow." Tormund said, and walked out.

Ygritte gave him a kiss on his cheek and left him to think, and he went out along with the Blackfish and Tormund.

He asked Tormund "You think there's hope?"

"I've never seen these Bolton fuckers fight, and they've never seen the free folk fight. So yes, there's hope." He answered.

"You want to avenge your king, don't you?" Tormund asked.

"It wasn't the Boltons that defeated Stannis, it was Stannis himself. I loved the man, he lifted me up and made me something, but he had demons in his skull whispering foul things." He said.

"You saw these demons?" Tormund asked.

"What?" He asked.

Tormund looked at him seriously, and The Blackfish said "It's metaphorical."

Tormund still looked confused, and he told him "Not literal demons."

"Ah... well you loved that cunt Stannis, and I loved the man he burned. Mance didn't have demons in his skull. He didn't torture people, or listen to some red witch. I believed in him, I thought he was the man to lead us through the long night. But I was wrong, just like you." Tormund said.

"And there I was when Catelyn came to me... we'd just burned her father's body and she wept to me, wishing her husband was back, her children, and I told her she had to be strong for Robb. I believed in Robb too..." Brynden said.

"Maybe that was our mistake, Believing in kings." He told them.

"Jon Snow's not a king." Tormund mentioned.

"No he's not." He nodded with a light smile.

They paused for a moment, and then Tormund said "I need a good drink to help me sleep before a fight. You want some? I have a jug of sour goat's milk, stronger than any of that grape water you southern twats like sucking on."

"Well-"

"Point me in the direction immediately. I've been sober for far too long." Brynden said.

Tormund laughed a little, and he told them "That does sound delicious, but I'd better keep a clear head. I can never sleep the night before a battle."

"So what do you do all night?" Tormund asked.

"I walk. Think and walk. Think and walk until I'm far enough away from camp that no one can hear me shitting my guts out." He answered.

Tormund laughed a little, and the Blackfish went with him. Most likely to get piss drunk. He started walking around the edges of the camp. He thought about what Sansa said. _Ramsay doesn't fall into traps, he lays them._ It was a possibility that he might not take the bait. If not, they would have to change the plan fast. Eventually after walking, he stumbled upon some old burnt logs, likely to have kept the food warm under a pot. It was likely from Stannis. He still sort of missed him, in his own way. If it weren't for him, he wouldn't be where he is now.

He kicked the log a little and saw something fall out from in between the logs. He noticed it wasn't a fragment of wood, and bent down to look at it. It was a burnt wooden stag he had made for Shireen.

* * *

Bran

* * *

This time, he was in some desert, and he had no clue where he was. However he saw plenty of men and women lying on the ground. And three of them were walking toward something that had been burned, and was smoking. Once they got there, he noticed a woman was sitting down in the burnt remains. He was confused as to what happened before he got there. But then, he saw the naked woman have a baby dragon crawl on to her shoulder. This made him extremely curious as to when this was, since all the dragons were killed off many years ago.

One of the men bent down and said "Blood of my blood."

He then started seeing the sun rise up, and then go back down rapidly. Abnormally. He was beginning to lose control on the vision he was seeing. He tried to stop it, but then he was somewhere else. He saw men fighting in a small arena. The woman from earlier was on a small podium watching it. As they were killing each other, one man came out and knocked them out one by one. The lady seemed pleased by it, and then the person removed their helm, and it was the same man he saw in the first vision, who had said 'Blood of my blood.'

She suddenly looked angry and said "Get him out of my sight."

The man begged "Khaleesi, please, I just need a moment of your time."

Two men grabbed him, and tried dragging him away, and he shouted "I brought you a gift!"

Another voice said "It's true! He has."

He turned to where it came from, and saw a dwarf, with a face he couldn't forget.

Khaleesi asked "Who are you?"

"Tyrion..." He whispered.

Tyrion Lannister went up to Khaleesi and said "I am the gift. It is a pleasure to meet you, your grace. I am Tyrion Lannister."

Things then started getting strange, as everyone in time suddenly stopped moving. Everything suddenly went dark, and he thought he was going to wake up. But he was sure his eyes were open, and he still felt himself standing.

"Meera?" He called out.

Things started getting brighter, and he could tell there was a torch hanging from a pillar. He stepped toward it and heard a low rumbling. He suddenly stopped and felt his heart racing.

"Hello...?" He called out.

He then saw a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness, and a fully grown dragon screeched at him. He jumped back suddenly. It blew fire directly at him and he screamed loudly just before he woke up. Meera jumped quickly, looking back at him and asked "What!? What is it!?"

He took a deep breath and said "I saw... dragons... a girl called Khaleesi had them."

"The dragons have been dead a long time ago..." Benjen said.

"Not anymore they're not." He told him.

"How do you know?" Meera asked.

"Tyrion Lannister, a man who came to me once soon after I couldn't use my legs anymore, he made me a saddle so I could still ride horses. He was there, he met the girl." He told them.

Benjen said "If the dragons are back... we could use them against the White Walkers."

"I don't know where to find them though... I was in a dark place, and then they came out of nowhere. They saw me standing there, and tried to kill me."

"Perhaps when you're down south, you can ask about that name... Khaleesi." Benjen suggested.

It made him very curious. He knew there were definitely dragons, Tyrion being up close to one had to have proved they were back. He recalled the first time he met the three eyed raven, he'd told him 'You will never walk again, but you will fly.' He questioned if he would have warged into a dragon, or even been able to ride one.

* * *

Tyrion

* * *

It was strange seeing him again. Theon Greyjoy, the hostage raised by the Starks. Ned Stark treated him like one of his own sons, even if he had been a hostage. And here he was, adressing Daenerys.

"The last time I saw you was at Winterfell, yes? You were making jokes about my height if I remember correctly. Everyone who makes a joke about a dwarf's height, thinks he's the only person ever to make a joke about a dwarf's height. The height of nobility, a man of your stature, someone to look up to. You're all making the same five or six jokes." He mentioned.

Perhaps he was being a little tough on him, but it was only fair since he was the same.

"It was a long time ago." Theon said.

"It was. And how have things been going for you since then? Not so well I gather. Can't imagine you would have murdered the Stark boys had things been going well." He said.

Daenerys gave a bitter look and said "When I freed the slaves, I swore to punish every man and woman who ever hurt a child. To bring justice upon those who have done wrong. From what my adviser tells me, you murdered two little boys. So? Why should I not have you executed."

"I didn't murder the Stark boys... I did something just as bad." Theon said.

"And he paid for it." Yara added.

"Doesn't seem like it. He's still alive." He mentioned.

"Perhaps, if you say so. You brought us a hundred ships from the iron fleet, with men to sail them. In return I expect you want me to support your claim to the throne of the Iron Islands?" Daenerys asked.

"Not my claim, hers." Theon said, intending Yara to rule.

"Hmm, what's wrong with you?" She asked.

"I'm not fit to rule."

"We can agree upon that at least." He said.

"Has the Iron Islands ever had a queen before?" She asked.

"No more than Westeros." Yara answered.

Theon said "Our uncle Euron returned home after a long absence. He murdered our father, and took the salt throne from Yara. He would have murdered us if we'd stayed."

"Lord Tyrion tells me your father was a terrible king."

"You and I have that in common." Yara said.

"We do. And both murdered by a usurper as well. Will their ships be enough?" Daenerys asked him.

He thought about the slave ships they captured. "With the former master's fleet? Possibly, barely. There are more than a hundred ships in the iron fleet."

"There are. And Euron is building more, and he is going to offer them to you." Theon said.

"So why shouldn't I wait for him?" She asked.

"The Iron fleet isn't all he's bringing. He also wants to give you-"

"His big cock, I think he said." Yara spoke. "Euron's offer is also an offer of marriage. You see, you wont get one without the other."

"And I imagine your offer is free of any marriage demands?" She asked.

"I never demand, but I'm up for anything really." Yara said.

Daenerys smirked at her, and for a moment, he could have sworn he'd taken one too many sips of wine. Surely she didn't just hit on the queen during the very deal they were making. He thought as a joke, perhaps he should leave before they begin taking their clothes off.

"He murdered our father, and he would've murdered us. He'll murder you as soon as he has what he wants." Theon said.

"The seven kingdoms..." He said.

"All of them." Theon added.

"And you don't want the seven kingdoms?" Daenerys asked.

"Your ancestors defeated ours, and took the Iron Islands. We ask you to give them back." Theon said.

"And that's all?"

"We'd like you to help us murder an uncle or two who doesn't think a woman's fit to rule." Yara added.

"I agree with you, but don't think I'll help you 'murder' anyone who doesn't absolutely deserve it." Daenerys said.|

"What if everyone starts declaring their independence?" He asked.

"She's not demanding, she's asking. The others are free to ask as well." Daenerys corrected. She got up from her seat, and walked down toward Yara saying"Our fathers were evil men, all of us here. They left the world worse than we found it. Were not going to do that, Were going to leave the world better than we found it. You will support my claim as queen of the seven kingdoms. And respect the integrity of the seven kingdoms. No more reaving, roving, raiding, or raping."

"That's our way of life..." Yara said.

"No more." Daenerys demanded.

Yara looked to Theon for a moment, and then looked back at Daenerys and said "No more." She took her hand out to shake it.

Daenerys paused and looked back at him for confirmation. He lifted his hands up a little, letting her decide. He wasn't there to give orders, but to instead guide her. They grabbed on to each other's arms, and sealed their deal.

* * *

 _ **Bastard bowl in 7 days or less.**_


	10. Chapter 10: Battles among bastards

_**Author's note: This chapter was very short, I know. Which is why I've already written chapter 11. By the time you're reading this, it should be out in a couple hours. I'll keep this one short, and the next note will have more detail.**_

 _ **Enjoy**_ _ **chapter**_ _ **10**_

* * *

Jon

* * *

He rode up in between his men to the center. The army was all lined up, but so was Ramsay's. He had even flayed men, and put their bodies on the battlefield, and left them to burn. There were tons of people on each side. It was quite likely the only way they could win it, was with the Blackfish's plan. He looked into the forest on the right. He couldn't see the men inside, but he knew they were there. Ygritte was next to Tormund, commanding the archers. Davos commanded the swordsmen from Hornwood. Tormund commanded the free folk, and Wun Wun.

The Blackfish commanded the Masons, and Lord Glover commanded the forest army. Of course, he had command over everyone, but they were there in case he wouldn't be able to shout commands. He watched their army for a little while, and he then saw Ramsay emerge from the army. He watched him carefully, and as he did so, he then saw Rickon follow him, all tied up. He jumped off his horse and walked forward to get a better view on him.

He saw Ramsay pull something out that looked like a knife. He felt his heart racing within his chest. As he watched, Ramsay brought the knife down toward Rickon, but it didn't look like he hurt him, since Rickon didn't flinch very much. Whatever Ramsay was doing, it wasn't good. And getting his brother back was a top priority. As he watched, he saw Ramsay push Rickon forward a little.

Rickon was slowly pacing, and then he barely made out a bow, which Ramsay took. It appeared he was going to shoot him down as he ran to them. He immediately ran back and jumped on his horse. He made it sprint as quickly as possible. He saw arrows fly close to little Rickon, and it only made his heart race faster. He yelled at the horse, and kicked its sides as many times as he could to get it to go quicker. He kept getting closer and closer, but it felt like it just wasn't fast enough. He kept seeing arrows land close to Rickon, and he just kept going.

As he was getting closer, he put one hand down to grab him and swing him on to his horse when he got there. They were so close now, but suddenly Rickon got an arrow through his chest, and fell to the ground. He immediately stopped his horse and looked down at him. Rickon was coughing up blood for a moment, until he stopped breathing. He turned his head back to Ramsay, who was simply smiling. He could just feel Ygritte telling him no. He was feeling anger build up within him. He could barely control himself. He then saw all Ramsay's men draw arrows and begin shooting them at him.

He eventually kicked his horse, charging forward. He managed to run past all the arrows the shot at him, and all he could think about now was getting to Ramsay and ending it. But the second wave of arrows managed to kill his horse, and he fell off. He breathed heavily, and caught his balance, then got back on to his feet. He saw the army charging toward him, and he didn't care anymore whether he lived or died. Killing Ramsay was his only goal, avenging his family, his brother and step mother at the Red Wedding. He began taking off his scabbard so he could better maneuver during the battle. He drew the sword from it and waited as the horses came to him.

They were drawing closer and closer, but he was not afraid. He raise his sword ready to stab one of them, but suddenly all his men crashed into Ramsay's, and he started to lower his sword, a bit confused. There was dirt, and mud flying everywhere, and it was so loud he could barely even think. People started dying all around him, and he didn't even know who to fight. People were beginning to get mixed up of who was a friend, and who was a foe. He saw one Bolton coming for him on horseback, and he managed to swing his sword and throw the man off.

There were so many people fighting, he couldn't keep count. Another man was coming toward him, swinging their sword high, but he struck his sword low into him, where they weren't defending themselves. Blood sprayed all over his armor, and the horses galloping past him splashed mud on him.

As he looked through the men in the right, he saw the men in the forest begin shooting arrows at the archers who were hanging back with Ramsay. The amount of arrows killed dozens of them, so the archers charged toward the men in the forest, and they did the same. Eventually, he saw one man run up to him, and he raised his sword, only to watch an arrow go through his head.

As he lowered his sword, he saw Ygritte running up to him, and said "You just had to go and charge in full force did ya!?"

He didn't have the time to argue, and a man came running toward him and he clashed his sword against the other man's, and disarmed him. He grabbed the soldier, and put him between Ygritte and himself, and they stabbed him simultaneously. Ygritte hung her bow around her neck and back, and kept with a sword instead.

He walked up behind one man, and cut into his leg, forcing him to his knees. Another one saw it, and tried to stab him, but he grabbed the soldier on his knees, and made the Bolton stab his own man. Afterward, he dropped the dead soldier, and ran his sword through the other one's throat. One soldier tried to stab Ygritte on a sideways angle, and she stopped the sword with her own, and kicked the soldier in his manhood. It was more than enough to stun him, and she stabbed him in his heart.

He saw arrows begin flying from above, and he dropped to the ground, and they barely missed him. He even felt one hit him, but it didn't go deep enough through his clothing. He saw the Blackfish fighting a Bolton on his horse, while he had his own. The Blackfish had reached over and stabbed the man in his chest, although both their horses were immediately killed by arrows, and they fell down together.

He was beginning to see bodies pile on top of each other, because of so many men that were dying. It was quite scary, like something out of your worst nightmares, and he was living it. He clashed his sword against one soldier, and a horse managed to ride him down. He saw one of his men fighting a Bolton, and as he was running over to help, they both died from arrows. He slowed down, and then one of the soldiers grabbed him from behind and held him into a sort of choking position. Another Bolton was coming up to him, while the other held him back, but he managed to break free and jump out of the way before the other Bolton was going to stab him, and he ended up stabbing his own man.

He killed the other one, and at this point he was feeling weak. His muscles were sore, and he was feeling faint from his breathing. Another man came up, and managed to push him to the ground. He raised his sword to defend himself while he was down, and the soldier slammed it with all his might. He kept holding the man back, but he kept swinging down on him. Just as he was losing strength, Tormund came up and stabbed the man from behind. Tormund grabbed him and lifted him back on to his feet.

"Stay with me!" He heard him say.

He turned back looking at where his archers used to be, and Davos had forced everyone to charge in. He saw Wun Wun slam his fist into a horse and knock it down as he charged in. Wun Wun pointed, as there were Bolton soldiers charging in toward them. Ygritte managed to find them again, and kept close to him and Tormund. As he looked, he saw half of Lord Glover's army was killed, and the rest stuck close to the free folk near him. He then watched as the Umber soldiers began surrounding them, and eventually planted shields once they were completely boxed in.

The battle went eerily quiet, and nothing was happening. Then, the Umbers began drawing spears and stabbing the free folk. It seemed the Umbers were going to surround them tighter until they killed everyone. He looked to the pile of corpses and saw it as a possible way out, but then Smalljon Umber came over the corpses with more Umbers, and killed one of their men who tried to flee over the corpses. He fought through as many as he could to get to the corpse pile, and get over it. If they did so, they could get out of the trap. As he fought, he eventually found Smalljon right in front of him.

He readied his sword, prepared to fight, but suddenly someone tackled him down, and he got tackled down too. People were running over him, and it was hard to breathe. Every time he'd try to take a breath, someone would step on him and knock the air out of him. He was fighting as hard as he could to get up, but it was furiously hard. Eventually he made it up, and saw Wun Wun was getting stabbed with plenty of spears, and the Blackfish was getting beat up by Smalljon. Although, he heard a horn, and started wondering what it was.

When Smalljon looked up to see what it was, the Blackfish took out a dagger, and shoved it hard into his gut, then slid it across, and all his guts began falling out. He then looked back to the other side of the battlefield, and he saw the flag of House Arryn, and hundreds upon hundreds of men on horses riding into the battle. It was like a prayer had just been answered, and the knights began riding down the Boltons with shields who had trapped them. He pushed through the people around him, and climbed to the top of the pile of corpses.

Tormund, Ygritte and Wun Wun were following him. He looked at Ramsay's face of pure shock, as everything he had built up was being destroyed. Ramsay turned his horse and began riding back, but he jumped of the pile of corpses, and everyone else followed him. They chased Ramsay down all the way back to the castle, and they had shut the door, attempting to wait them out. Plenty of the free folk were prepared to try and break down the gate, but Wun Wun began ramming it.

Wun Wun ended up being able to break down the gate. He ran in following the giant, but he ended up falling to his knees. The rest of the free folk charged in and killed all the archers very quickly, but Wun Wun seemed badly hurt. He stood next to him, looking at the giant. Wun Wun looked to him and made soft grunting noises.

Wun Wun started looking weak, and he touched his side. He'd never gotten to touch a living giant before, but it was unlikely he would live much longer. Just before the giant began to fall, he said "Snow." And then collapsed.

He felt awful for the giant dying. He was never able to understand its language, but it was willing to die for him. He turned back looking at Ramsay, and he had been surrounded now.

Ramsay looked around and said "Well... you suggested one on one combat? I've reconsidered. I think that sounds like a wonderful idea."

Ramsay drew a sword, but he just walked up to him, ready to kill him so quickly. Ramsay stepped forward toward him, about to attack, but Jon punched Ramsay before he even had the chance to swing his sword. Ramsay fell on to his back, and he got down on top of him. He threw Longclaw away, and Ramsay pulled out a dagger and tried to stab him, but he caught his wrist, and snapped it around to where the bone in his hand broke. Ramsay cried out in pain, and he took the dagger from Ramsay, and stabbed the dagger through his hand and into the dirt, pinning him down by one hand.

All he could think about was Rickon as he started punching him. As he was punching, he started feeling teeth chip away, and his bones beginning to get weaker. He lost count of how many punches he had given him, but he saw Sansa out of the corner of his eye, and began to stop.

He looked back down at Ramsay, and he had given him two black eyes, missing teeth, and a broken nose. Not to mention blood everywhere. Ygritte didn't seem to mind what he did, but he didn't want to become like Ramsay. A murderer, a torturer, a man who takes pleasure out of other people's suffering.

He got up from him and left him there. It was unlikely Ramsay would be able to get up with the dagger pinning his hand to the ground, so he turned his back to him. Everyone who took part in the battle was covered in blood. He looked around the castle walls, and it had been years since he had been in Winterfell. He was not much more than a boy when he left, and now he was back home again.

* * *

The Bolton banners were thrown down off the walls, and he watched as the new Stark banner lapped over it. Replacing the old one. He stood next to Ygritte looking at the outside of the castle, and asked "Is it as good as you had hoped?"

"It's quite pretty without those other flags decorating it." She mentioned.

"I suppose I'll be living here from now on. You can too if you want." He told her.

"Where else would I go? I came here for you."

He smiled and said "Then I'll be glad to share the memories living here with you."

They kissed each other, and then afterward they went inside. As they walked in, he stopped for a moment, and he saw some men carrying Rickon's body. As he looked over it, Sansa came over and looked at it as well. It nearly made him tear up. This poor boy was so young, he had a whole life ahead of him, a whole life to live, and Ramsay stole that away from him. He couldn't stop replaying back the events that happened. If he had only been faster, if he could have convinced Ramsay to let him go.

"Bury my brother's body in the Winterfell crypts, next to my father..." He told the man.

Ygritte was watching, and said "Wait..."

He turned back and looked at her. She ran her fingers across his chest, and then looked at Rickon's body. "Jon... you died... you came back... what about him?"

"No... no, I wont do that to him." He replied.

"No? We should at least try, he's our brother!" Sansa added

"You haven't felt what it's like when you come back. I don't feel whole. It's like a part of me was lost. I can hardly explain it, but I don't want to make him go through that." He told them.

They both went quiet and he said "I don't feel right, even now being back. But I don't want him to have to feel that. None of you have ever died and come back, I even told Melisandre not to bring me back if I died in the battlefield. Let him rest, bury him in the crypts."

He walked off leaving them to think about it. He felt it was a bit unlikely Sansa would not try to bring him back regardless, but he said what he could.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

She looked at Ramsay stuck in the room with his dogs. He had dried blood all over him, and he looked close to death. But she didn't feel sorry for him, it was justice. She knew her morals were still within her, she had no doubt. But she still didn't feel sorry for him. Ramsay was tied down and making strange noises of breath, with a raspy voice.

He looked up to her and said "Hello Sansa... is this where I'll be staying now?"

She wasn't going to answer him.

"No... our time together is about to come to an end." Ramsay ranted.

"That's alright... you cant kill me... I'm part of you now." He continued.

"Your words will disappear. Your house will disappear, your name will disappear, all memory of you will disappear." She told him coldly.

She could hear one of the dogs beginning to growl. The dogs started walking out of their cages and moving around him. Ramsay watched as they circled him.

He eventually said "My hounds will never harm me."

"Ser Davos had told me about your threats of dogs. I heard stories of how you would send women into the forest and hunt them down for sport. In that threat you made, you said you hadn't fed your hounds for seven days..." She said.

"They're loyal beasts." He said.

"They were, now they're starving." She told him.

A dog hopped up on to his lap and began licking his face. Ramsay tried to tell it to sit, but it continued. Eventually it stopped a moment, and then it bit his face. Ramsay screamed at the top of his lungs as the other dogs began to join in at his feet, and he was being eaten alive. As it happened, she began to walk away. Even now hearing his pain, she still didn't feel sorry for him. Not after all the things she'd heard he'd done to Theon, to the girls in the forest, to the poor Hornwood lady in the tower. She couldn't help but smile a little.


	11. Chapter 11: Winds of Winter

_**Author's note: So, as planned, I will continue past season 6. I've already got some ideas planned so don't worry. Also, thank you everyone for 100 followers on this story. That is a lot of people, and I can't thank you enough. (Or writing this story is thanks enough?) I've been dealing with being sick and going to the hospital a few times, and I nearly broke my release date within a week. So, I don't really want to give a release date for the next chapter, but do know it will be out in less than a month, and probably less than 3 weeks.**_

 _ **And heck,**_ _ **It could be even sooner than that. I released two at once because it was too short, and I wanted to keep everyone satisfied with it. So yeah, here's to writing season 7. "Long may I write!"**_

 _ **(Enjoy chapter 11)**_

* * *

Jaime

* * *

He was nearly home at King's Landing. He wondered how Cersei was handling things, considering when he last left the High Sparrow was taking charge of nearly everything. He rode over the hill and saw the Sept of Baelor in smoke and rubble. He blinked his eyes wondering if what he saw was true. Then it started to sink in all at once. _Burn them all!_ He heard Aerys as a distant whisper.

 _Caches of wildfire underneath the Red Keep, and the Sept of Baelor._ He recalled being told from Pycelle. There was no way the High Sparrow would've burnt down the Sept of Baelor, that's where he worships his gods. Tommen was too nice and kind to have done it, and the High Sparrow had him under his thumb. It was Cersei... he could feel it like betrayal from her.

"Wait here." He told his soldiers.

He sent his horse into a gallop and rode into the city quickly. He saw burnt bodies on the ground as he galloped. He rode past the Lannister guards who nearly mistook him for someone else, and might have tried to stab him.

He got off his horse and walked in to the Red Keep. He followed the hallway to the side entrance of the throne room, and entered. He saw Cersei in a dark dress, and a golden lion stitching from shoulder to shoulder. She was walking toward the Iron Throne, and he realized the room was a lot darker, and more ominous than usual. The Mountain walked up and stood beside her, and Maester Qyburn was holding a crown on a pillow.

Qyburn spoke up, saying "I now proclaim Cersei, of the house Lannister, first of her name, queen of the Andals and the first men, protector of the seven kingdoms."

Qyburn slowly put the crown on to her head, and she slowly sat down. He knew if she became queen, then Tommen had to have died... likely in the explosion at the sept.

"Long may she reign." Qyburn said, and the crowd repeated "Long may she reign."

He watched silently, and Cersei looked at him, obviously noticing he didn't say anything. He turned back and began walking out of the throne room the way he came. He eventually made it to his horse, and climbed back on. He began riding out of the Red Keep, out of King's Landing.

Once he made it back to them, Bronn asked "So, have you had enough alone time to fuck the Cersei? Because were really getting sick of waiting h-"

"Cersei's dead." He told him. Some of the other soldiers heard it and they all began talking together.

"Men, I have been relieved of my position in the King's guard. Tommen Baratheon is dead, which means I am lord of House Lannister."

Bronn looked at him strangely and asked "What are you on about exactly?"

"Everyone follow me... were going to Casterly Rock." He said.

"Wait hold on, if Cersei and Tommen are dead, why don't you just take the throne!?" A soldier asked.

"I'm your lord now, yes? I command you to not ask questions and follow me to Casterly Rock." He said coldly.

He rode with his horse and the soldiers followed him.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He felt the top of the chairs his family used to sit on. He remembered the feast he had with Robert just before he left for the Night's Watch so long ago. And now he would get to live there again.

"When we had feasts, our family would sit up here. And I'd sit down there." He pointed to the back of the room, imagining the tables.

"Could have been worse, Jon Snow. You had a family. You had feasts." Melisandre told him.

"Aye, you're right. I was luckier than most." He said.

As he looked, he saw Davos walk in and throw Melisandre something so quickly, he didn't have time to see what it was.

"What is that?" He asked.

"Tell him." Davos said.

Melisandre lowered her head, and Davos said "Tell him who it belonged to."

"...The princess Shireen." She said.

"Tell him what you did to her... TELL HIM!" Davos shouted.

Melisandre fell quiet for a while, having trouble speaking. He could only imagine what he was about to hear.

"We burned her at the stake..." She said quietly.

He fell silent unable to even think. He didn't know Shireen very well, but she was just a little girl. He was stuck in the middle, unable to figure out what to do, what to say.

"Why?" Davos asked.

"The army was strep, the horses were dying... it was the only way." She said.

"You burned a little girl alive!"

"I only do what my lord commands!"

"If he commands you to burn children, your lord is evil!"

He felt completely stuck in between what was happening.

"We are standing here because of him. Jon Snow is alive because of him." She said.

"I loved that girl like she was my own. She was good, she was kind, and you KILLED HER!" Davos shouted.

"So did her father... so did her mother... her own blood knew it was the only way-"

"The only way for what!? They all died anyway. You told everyone Stannis was the one, you had him believe in it, all of us fooled, and you lied."

"I didn't lie... I was wrong."

"Aye, you were wrong... how many died because you were wrong?" Davos asked.

Everyone went silent for a moment, and afterwards, Davos said "I ask your leave to execute this woman for murder, she admits to the crime."

He had only been at Winterfell for a few short days, and already he was being force to make judgements like his father used to.

She looked to him, seeming not to want that. All he could ask was "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

She smirked a little and said "I've been ready to die for many years. If the lord were done with me, so be it. But he's not. You've seen the Night King, Jon Snow. You know the great war is still to come. You know the army of the dead will be upon us soon, and you know I can help you win that war."

He walked up to her and said quietly "Ride south today. If you return to the North, I'll have you hanged as a murderer."

Everyone went silent and she slowly put the stag in her hand down. Afterward, she made her way to the door, but Davos stopped her, saying "If you ever come back this way, I will execute you myself."

She seemed to understand and left the room.

* * *

He went to the castle wall and watched her leave. She didn't take much with her other than a horse. He noticed Sansa came up to him and was watching her leave as well.

"I'm having the lord's chamber prepared for you." He said. It was unlikely to him he would rule over Winterfell being a bastard.

"Mother and father's room?" Sansa asked.

He nodded and she said "You should take it.

He smiled a little, seeing how she would've liked for him to have it.

"I'm not a Stark."

"You are to me."

He sighed and said "You're the lady of Winterfell, you deserve it, we're standing here because of you. The battle was lost until the knights of the Vale rode in. They came because of you."

She stayed her words and he said "You told me lord Baelish sold you to the Boltons."

"He did." She confirmed.

"And you trust him?"

"Only a fool would trust Littlefinger." She told him.

"I should have told you about him. About the knights of the Vale... I'm sorry." She added.

He turned more toward her and said "We can't fight a war amongst ourselves, we have so many enemies now."

She lowered her head a little, and he moved to kiss her forehead. He hoped she would trust him more from now on, it was important they trusted each other. With her being the lady of Winterfell, it would be very difficult for the both of them. Even if he was chosen to be the lord, she would still have to make decisions in his stead when he wasn't able.

He turned to leave but she said his name, "Jon."

He spun himself back to look at her and she said "A raven came from the Citadel... a white raven... winter is here."

He noticed she said it a bit dramatic and he smiled and looked up at the sky. It was snowing already, and he hardly even bothered to consider when winter _really_ came. He started imagining the Stark words. _Winter is coming._ He figured they wouldn't be saying that for a little while now. It's already here.

"Well, father always promised didn't he?" He said.

She smiled toward him and he began walking back inside the castle.

* * *

Bran

* * *

He could see the wall now, they were so close. It had been so long since he last saw it, and now here he was. Benjen told him "This is where I leave you."

"You're not coming with us?" Meera asked

"The wall's not just ice and stone. Ancient spells were carved into its foundations. Strong magic to protect men from what lies beyond." Benjen told them.

"And while it stands, the dead cannot pass, and I cannot pass." Benjen added.

He then walked over to him and helped him off their horse. He took him over to a Weirwood tree and sat him down.

"A great war is coming, and I still fight for the living. I'll do what I can, as long as I can." Benjen said before climbing on his horse.

"Thank you Uncle Benjen." He told him.

"I wish you both good fortune." He replied, and then turned his horse and began riding away.

After Benjen left, things were quiet. They were on their own now. No Hodor, no Jojen, no Summer to keep them company. He looked over at the Weirwood tree's mouth and tried to crawl over to it, and Meera noticed, so she came over and helped him get closer to it. Benjen told him he would better control his visions when he was near a Weirwood tree, so now was the time to test that.

He raised his hand up, and Meera grabbed it stopping him, asking "Are you sure you're ready for this."

He told her "I'm the Three Eyed Raven now, I have to be ready for this."

She slowly let go of his hand, and when he was about to place it on the Weirwood tree, she planted a kiss on his cheek. He immediately had tons of thoughts go flying through his head, which was making it extremely hard for him to go into the visions. He'd had a crush on her for a while, and he wondered if it was just a friendly kiss, or if she had one too. It was excruciatingly hard to clear his thoughts, but he managed, and saw black for a few moments. He thought about when he saw his father at the tower, and it started appearing in front of him. He could only imagine how hard it would be to get a vision he'd never seen before.

Ned turned to the tower and heard a scream. He began running up the steps to go into the tower, and he remembered how he turned back to look at him. He whispered "father..."

He stopped and looked back at him, but didn't seem to see him, and then turned back and ran up the steps. He followed him up and he went into the door of the tower and it flew open quickly.

As he watched there was a girl on the bed and she said "Ned?"

And he answered back "Lyanna."

Ned left Arthur's sword leaning up against the bed, and knelt beside her. He realized this was Lyanna, his sister. And she asked "Is that really you? You're not a dream?"

She raised her hand and he held it and he said "No I'm not a dream. I'm right here."

"I've missed you big brother." She told him.

Ned's face was full of heartbreak, and he said "I've missed you too."

He felt bad watching his father in such sadness. It must've been awful for him. Lyanna said "I want to be brave."

"You are." Ned said comforting her.

"I'm not." She lifted up her hand, and it was covered in blood. "I don't want to die."

"You're not going to die." He told her.

Ned looked back at the nurses and said "Get her some water! Is there a maester!?"

Lyanna said "No-no water, just- listen to me Ned."

She put a hand near his head, and he walked closer to hear what she was whispering.

She told him "His name is Veinys, Rhaegar was his father. If Robert finds out, he'll kill him, you know he will, you have to protect him. Promise me."

Ned seemed shocked at what he was told, and so was he. He'd never heard of Veinys, which made him worried for whatever happened to him. He heard a baby crying and a nurse had brought the baby over to Ned, and he held it.

"Promise me Ned... promise me." Lyanna told him.

Ned looked down at the baby, and he couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He heard Ned say to himself "He can't have a Targaryen name... he's Jon."

He widened his eyes and stepped back. "Jon!?" He yelled.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He sat on the high table with Sansa and Ygritte by his sides, as the other lords of smaller houses argued, and debated.

Lord Royce said "You cant expect the knights of the Vale to side with Wildling invaders!"

"We didn't invade, we were invited." Tormund said.

"Were not here to kill every southerner just because we can, we're here to live peacefully. We stand behind Jon Snow." Ygritte said.

He stood up and said "The free folk, the Northerners and the knights of the Vale fought bravely, fought together, and we won. My father used to say 'we find our true friends on the battlefield.'"

Lord Cerwyn stood up and said "The Boltons are defeated, the war is over, winter has come, if the maesters are right it'll be the coldest one in a thousand years. We should ride home, and wait out the coming storms."

"The war is not over. And I promise you friend, the true enemy won't wait out the storm, he brings the storm." He mentioned the White Walkers.

Everyone else sat back down and began talking amogst themselves.

But Lyanna Mormont stood up and said "Lord Cerwyn, your father was skinned alive by Ramsay Bolton, yet you refused the call. Harald Karstark blamed Jon for what his brother Robb did, and he allied with the Boltons. The Vale is not part of the north, and now they would cower simply because Jon Snow chose an allegiance with other Northerners. The free folk."

He listened carefully and she continued "But House Mormont remembers. House Manderly remembers. House Glover remembers. The north remembers! We know no king, but the king in the north whose name is Stark. I don't care if he's a bastard, Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins. He's my king, from this day, until his last day!"

Once she finished she sat down, and all he could think about was how mature she sounded, and how much she believed in him. He felt happy to inspire the other houses, to lead them as he did.

Wyman Manderly stood up and said "Lady Mormont speaks truly. All the other Northern houses followed Ned Stark as Warden of the North. And I follow someone different. A king! He is the white wolf, the king in the North!" He drew his sword and pointed it into the floor, in a kneeling position.

Robbet Glover stood up and said "The north will always remember. He is our leader, and he will lead us through the long night together. Following him, he will lead us to victory, and prosperity! The king in the north!" He drew his sword and knelt just like Wyman had.

Another lord shouted "The king in the north!" And then they all stood up and held their swords high shouting "The king in the north!" Multiple times. He looked all around him as they shouted, willing to follow him. He felt so honored they would accept him. He looked back at Sansa and Ygritte, and Ygritte stood up and joined them in calling him "The king in the north."

Whatever the future would bring he was ready to lead them through it. The White Walkers were coming, and they would stand together to fight them.


	12. Chapter 12: Nowhere is safe forever

_**Author's note: I probably could have made this longer. But I feel a bit of a cliffhanger is kind of a fun way to start off this new chapter based completely on my interpretation of what I think will/should happen. The next ones will likely take more time, and be longer, with less cliffhangers. So this is the set up for what is going to happen.**_

* * *

 _ **(short rant in between these lines.)**_

 _ **Let me know what you think in reviews. Of course, I'm not an attention whore, (simply put.) so you don't have to. And when it comes to giving me suggestions, I'd rather you not do those. If you do decide to leave a review. I can appreciate it, if you say my story is great because _ or it's bad because _ But I'd like to write the story in my own way.**_

 _ **And there was one reviewer who did leave suggestions, but I'm not calling you out. I've actually gotten multiple private messages from plenty of people on ideas, and I only recently realized I was almost doing the same thing for someone else. (basically I was a hypocrite) So, I'd prefer if you do leave reviews, leave them without suggestions for future implementations.**_

* * *

 _ **Ok, I'm going to stop now, sorry for the rant. Enjoy chapter 12.  
**_

* * *

Bran

* * *

Meera helped carry him to the gate of the Wall. It was the gate leading to Castle Black, where he remembered Jon was. He had nearly forgotten how close he was to him. He then thought of the vision he saw of him, he would have to tell Jon, there was no way he could keep it a secret. And probably to point either. Lyanna said 'If Robert found out, he'd kill him.' Robert Baratheon had died, so now he could. He looked up at the Wall, but could barely see anyone. It was really hard, and he hoped someone was up there to open the gate.

Luckily, a horn blew once and the gate began to open. He knew the Night's Watch never had a blow for visitors not of the Night's Watch, but one at least meant friendlies.

"Bran, are you awake?" Meera asked.

He realized he was dozing off from the long journey and said "Yes, I'm still awake... I can't wait to see Jon."

She smiled a little and said "I'm sure..."

He then thought about Jojen, and felt a little sorry he had said that. She dragged him through the tunnel, and eventually the second gate opened, and there were a couple Night's Watchmen standing at the end.

One of them asked "Are you one of the Wildlings?"

That made them both wonder curiously, and a little fearful. "If you thought we were Wildlings, wouldn't you have killed us?"

"No. Then again, if you didn't know we accepted them, that begs the question of why you came through the tunnel." He asked.

"I'm... Jon's brother." He said.

The Night's Watchmen looked strangely and asked "You're Bran Stark?"

He nodded as Meera held him up.

He looked to his other Night's Watchmen and said "Jon's not here. He left to take Winterfell from the Boltons."

"When will he be back?" Meera asked.

"I'm not sure. He hasn't wrote a letter to us yet, he could be dead for all we know. I surely hope not... he was our lord commander, and my friend." The Watchman said.

"How do you know Jon?" He asked.

"My name's Dolorous Edd, I helped him save Wildlings at Hardhome." Edd said.

"I need to get to my brother. It's important." He said desperately.

"I'll send a raven to Winterfell, and we'll hope for a reply. I'll tell him to come get you if he can. In the meantime, you can make yourselves comfortable here. The Night's Watch is nearly gone, we're all that's left." He said a little depressed.

The Night's Watchmen returned to what they were doing originally, and Meera helped carry him inside a building to get warm. As she carried him, there was a little rumble, and they turned back and looked toward where the sound was coming from. Edd suddenly turned back too, and everyone gathered around. A loud cracking noise came from further down the Wall, and everyone looked to the west, and chunks began crumbling off. Every Night's Watchman looked at it in worry. Eventually, it crumbled, and there was a large hole where the Wall should be.

"Oh gods!" A man shouted.

"Duncan... get a horse and travel to Winterfell... we can't wait on a raven." Edd told him.

Everyone looked in worry as to what would happen.

* * *

Tyrion

* * *

They were sailing to Westeros on their new found ships. It was likely they would've needed more, but it was just crowded. He was in a cabin with Daenerys, Missandei, Grey Worm and Varys. As everyone settled down it was about time to talk about actual strategies.

He was about to grab a bottle of wine off a table, but Daenerys gave him a funny look and he said "Alright... no drinks."

He went back to a chair and sat in it, however it soon became awkward, as only his head reached over the table. At this point everyone looked at him and he sighed and went to a cabin bed, and grabbed a few pillows. He came back and stacked them on top of each other and asked "Better?"

"You told me once before that getting the support of other houses would be difficult. We've already gained the Tyrells and the Martells, who else should I consider?" Daenerys asked.

Varys laid down a map and said "Here are where all the houses in Westeros are based. The Baratheons have been killed to extinction, so they are no longer a possibility." He marked out Storm's End.

"I doubt Stannis Baratheon would've joined anyway. Plus I doubt you'd want a man who actually _lost_ a siege on King's Landing." He added.

"King's Landing is still controlled by the Lannisters, if my sources are correct. Most of my little birds have stopped singing as of late." Varys said.

"And my sister is probably sitting on the Iron Throne with Tommen on her lap as we speak."

Varys wrote a circle around King's Landing saying "That's what we want to take."

"Of course, there's always the north. Then again, I wouldn't trust the Boltons after the stunt they pulled with Walder Frey." He pointed a finger to Winterfell.

Varys smiled a little and said "Actually, my little birds sing of a new king in the North, with a name of Stark."

Tyrion tilted his head and said "Oh really? And who is this savior?"

"The bastard son of Eddard Stark, Jon Snow. Apparently he built an army and took revenge on the Boltons reclaiming Winterfell." Varys said.

He had nearly forgotten that name. The last time he saw him was at the Wall, ready to take his vows. He started to wonder if he backed out of it since he was a volunteer after all. He did suggest the idea to him before, calling them rapists and thieves.

"He sounds a little like what we are trying to accomplish, to take back Daenerys' home from the men who stole it from her." Missandei mentioned.

"I haven't seen Jon in years." He said.

"You know this man?" Daenerys asked.

"I cant say very well... but for one, he was the only Stark who didn't hate me. Perhaps it was because he was only half a Stark. He said he was going to join the Night's Watch here, at Castle Black. He would take his vows and stay their for the rest of his life... I wonder what changed." He said.

"Perhaps he broke that oath. It would seem simple." Daenerys said, but he told her "I find it unlikely. He was quite the honorable man, like his father. He wouldn't break such an oath lightly."

"We have many Unsullied, Dothraki, enough to take city." Grey Worm said.

"But the North is not easily ruled over by southern rulers, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms for example. They only follow the leaderships of Starks. Robert Baratheon tried for years, and never once did they agree with him when it went against Ned Stark. You may think that armies will make them agree, but you'd be wrong. Plenty of them would die in the name of honor to defend their Warden of the North." He told her.

She paused for a moment and then said "So you say. If we must meet with this man then we'll get on with it and go to King's Landing. Thank you all for your counsel."

Everyone got up and began walking out of the cabin.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He was in the lord's chamber with Ygritte looking at all the tables that had been set out since the last meeting. He turned and looked at her saying "I suppose if I'm King of the North, that makes you my queen."

"Oh really now? Well don't expect me to keep wearing dresses. I only do that for you." She said.

He smiled thinking back on the boat, and said "We could get married, right here in Winterfell."

"I suppose we could if you wanted to. I don't need a vow to know you'll stay with me. Cause if you don't, I'll kill ya." She said.

"Yeah, I'd rather not test that..." He said thinking of when she shot him with three arrows. She might've not intended to kill him, but that arrow was six inches from his heart.

He leaned in about to kiss her, when the door to the room bursted open and there was a man of the Night's Watch saying "Lord Commander!"

They immediately jumped back from each other and he said "Seven hells! ...why are you here?"

He soon realized it was Duncan and he said "It's the Wall, it broke!"

He looked to Ygritte and then looked back at him. They both knew what this meant, and it was the White Walkers. There was nothing standing between them now, they could march right past. He began quickly walking out to the courtyard and saw that some of the men had already gathered. Robbet Glover, for one.

"Men, come with me! Grab your swords, bows, and arrows, we need to move to the Wall immediately!" He shouted.

Robbet Glover got on a horse and shouted "You heard the man, let's move!"

People began immediately climbing on their horses. He himself climbed on a horse. At least Duncan told Lord Glover what happened already. He looked to Yohn Royce and said "We'll need the knights of the Vale to aid us."

Lord Royce seemed to act a bit strange compared to when he was in the lord's chamber declaring him king of the north. He seemed a little more hesitant now. "Go, I must prepare the men. The more soldiers we bring, the better to defend the Wall."

"Fine, bring plenty of food, and water, and anything you'd deem necessary. We'll need to be strong." He told him. He rode his horse a little ways outside of Winterfell, where some of the free folk had begun making tents and settling down.

He saw a man and asked "Where's Tormund?"

"He's inside, why? And why are all these men with you?" The man asked.

"Get him!" He said serious.

The man went into the tent and came out with Tormund, and some other free folk.

He came out pretty calmly, obviously not knowing what had just happened. He walked up and asked "What's the matter?"

"The Wall has broken, the White Walkers are coming, they have to be." He told him.

The free folk started talking in worried voices and Tormund said "We don't have horses like you do, but we'll get there as soon as we can. Ride quickly, Jon Snow."

Duncan rode up next to him, barely able to stay calm, and he asked "How much did the Wall break?"

"At least a couple hundred feet. Everything seemed fine, but then the ground started shaking, and then the wall just crumbled like a cake!" Duncan said worried.

He sighed deeply and told Tormund "Bring building supplies. Chop down trees, get wood, brick, anything along the way without slowing you down. We'll need to repair it quickly before the others come."

"Will do." Tormund nodded and talked to some of the free folk, about to go back to the tents.

Ygritte rode up beside him on a horse, and he told her "I need you to stay here with Tormund."

"You think I'm just gonna leave you? I didn't leave you 't Hardhome, 'n I'm not going to now." She said defiant.

"Ygritte, I need you with Tormund right now. Help the free folk gather everything up, and if you have to come, come then, but I won't be able to think straight worrying about you if the others are there." He told her serious

She paused for a moment and said "Fine, but don't you fucking die out there, you hear me?"

He leaned over and kissed her, and then he looked back at the rest of his men, and sent his horse into a gallop. It seemed him, and the Glover army would be the first to arrive. He wondered if it would be enough. If the White Walkers had already broken through, that was doubtful. All they could do now, was hope they could fix it before it was too late.

* * *

Jaime

* * *

Everyone had arrived at Casterly Rock with little trouble. It had been years since he last got to see it, and here he was, about to be lord of it. It was never something he asked for, he was part of the king's guard. He would have let Tyrion take it had father let him. He rode in and it still looked just as beautiful as he had left it. However he had wondered who had been seating it since everyone had been in King's Landing for so long. Once he entered the castle, he saw Dorna Lannister sitting on the throne. He was a little surprised she was given rule over it, but at the same time not so, considering what happened at King's Landing.

She was quite a heavy woman, and had a nickname of 'The only fat Lannister.' She was wearing some royal robes, with the Lannister sigil sewn into them.

She seemed even more surprised than he was to see her. However she didn't look very happy either.

"Ser Jaime..." She said quietly.

"Lady Dorna." he replied.

"Why have you come here? There's nothing for you." She said.

"Actually, I'm afraid there is... have you heard of what's happened at King's Landing?" He asked with a saddened tone of voice.

"I know that the High Sparrow took my son and made him one of his little sparrows. I know that Cersei is responsible for his death... my poor sweet Lancel. So if you're here for no other reason than to mock me, then get out. I don't want to ever see either of you again." She said in grief.

"I'm not here to dishonor you. But Cersei has dishonored us all. She blew up the Sept of Baelor with wildfire, like the Mad King. I remember we've only ever spoken once during the wedding feast between her and Robert Baratheon." He said trying to change the subject.

"Yes, and what's that got to do with anything? It matters not, now. You hardly even know me, but I know you Kingslayer. If anything you two deserve each other, you've both brought dishonor to this house." She said bitterly.

He paused for a moment and collected his thoughts before saying "I love Cersei, but I won't let her continue down this path. She was coronated to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, we both know what she's become."

"What are you asking Jaime?" She asked a little depressed.

"Before Tommen died, he was coronated king, and forced me to be released of my vows to the king's guard, which means I am lord of Casterly Rock." He suggested.

"So now you've also come to take the very last thing I have left? This castle-" She said before Jaime added "I'm not forcing you out of here immediately. We can hold it together. I know you want revenge on Cersei, and I want to stop her from what she's doing. We both have common goals really."

"And how do you want to do that? She's got the entire Lannister army backing her as queen." Dorna said.

"Not the entire army..." He stated.

He looked back and a couple of Lannister soldiers entered the throne room.

"We have at least a quarter portion of what Cersei has, we'll make alliances and take it back from her. You don't want her on the throne, and neither do I, so we can either work together, or I can force you out of here." He stated confidently.

She stopped talking and they stared at each other. Dorna nodded and he did the same. What their punishment for Cersei would be difficult... he loved her, even though he would never admit it to anyone else. But she deserved to be forced off the Iron Throne. He wouldn't let her become like the Mad King.

* * *

The Red Priest

* * *

Riding along side Beric, they were traveling north to go to the wall. He had told Beric about the great war to come. The White Walkers were definitely back, and it was nearly time to defend the wall since winter has come. They traveled up the kingsroad since it was the quickest way, and time was important. Along the way, they saw a carriage and a couple of men on horses surrounding it. There was a man and a woman forced out of it and the other men on horseback looked like thieves. Beric turned to him and said "Surround them."

He smiled a little and the brotherhood began riding around the thieves and cornered them up against the carriage. The thieves backed up toward the carriage and said "Ay, what's going on here!?"

He told the thief "I could ask you the same, but I already know. So, submit yourselves to a quick and painless execution, or you can die slowly by our swords."

The woman cried as one thief continued to rip her dress, and then the Hound walked up behind the soon to be rapist, and wrapped his arm around his throat and put him in a choke hold. He then turned him around and slammed him face forward into the carriage saying "I found three men once who tried to rape a little girl in King's Landing. Do you want to know what I did to those cunts?"

The man cried a little and Beric said "That's enough, Clegane."

The Hound paused for a moment and said "Wish I could gut you right now like I did them." And threw him down into the dirt.

Eventually the thieves dropped their weapons, having no other choice. He climbed off his horse and kept his sword drawn. Beric climbed off his too and they all stood in front of them.

"Care for me to pray for your souls?" He asked one of the thieves, who said "Fuck it, I don't care where I go."

He was about to open his mouth and say something, when he saw another person approaching on horseback. It was a woman in a red cloak. He let them sit there for a moment and walked a little toward her.

"The priestess, Melisandre. Strange seeing you here after Stannis's defeat."

She rode quietly not wanting to stop, but he stood in front of the path.

"Please... move..." She said quietly.

Beric came over and asked "What happened?"

She looked over him and said "I know it's true now... you came back from the dead six times. Now Jon Snow has."

"Jon Snow, Ned Stark's bastard?" He asked curious.

"I brought him back from the dead... I didn't think it would work but..." she trailed her sentence off.

He looked to Beric quite surprised. He was the only one he knew able to come back to life, now there was another. "We have to meet him... where can we find him?" He asked.

"Go to Winterfell... you'll find him..." She said quietly.

"You should come with us. The Long Night is coming, and we will all need to stick together if we are to survive it." Beric told her.

"I can't go back there. You'll have to." She said before starting her horse back up to trot.

They watched as she left wondering why exactly she couldn't come. But either way, they had a much clearer goal now. And it was to meet Jon Snow who came back from the dead.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

With Jon leaving, she was going to have to rule over Winterfell in his stead. Things were so chaotic, and she hadn't even seen the White Walkers. It was quite concerning to say the least, and it seemed dealing with them would be top priority now. At the time she was in her room getting dressed, and wrapping herself in a warm cloak, and a royal Stark's dress. After she was done dressing, she exited the room, and went to the lord's chambers, seeing Petyr Baelish inside with some knights of the Vale. Whatever the reason, she knew it couldn't be good.

"Lord Baelish..." She stated.

"Sansa. It appears your brother Jon is leaving Winterfell now." He told her.

She wasn't able to tell his agenda, what he was even doing here. "What do you want lord Baelish?"

"Your half brother was elected king of the north, instead of you... how does that make you feel?" He asked.

It was like he knew every concern she ever thought. She wasn't completely sure she trusted him with that power, considering the last time he was a leader they nearly lost the battle.

"What I'm worried about right now is the Wall. Jon said he saw the White Walkers out there." She said changing the subject.

"Sansa, I ask you to come to the Eyrie with me. I've told you how I feel. The picture I see. Together we can make that picture turn to reality. Your half brother can stay Warden of the North, and you could be my Queen. Together, we would rule the Seven Kingdoms." He told her.

It was ironically, eerie, to hear him talk to her like that. "I'm sorry, Lord Baelish, but I can't do that. I belong here, and I don't want the Iron Throne."

He stayed silent looking at her and nodded. She thought he understood for a moment, until two knights of the Vale walked up and grabbed her by her arms. She could only imagine what he was planning to do to her. She tried to hit them, but they had armor. She tried to flee, but they held her too tightly.

"Tell them to let me go, Lord Baelish!" She demanded.

"Take her to the carriage." Petyr told the knights of the Vale, and they began forcing her to walk with them. She fought them every step of the way, but she couldn't hurt them at all with their armor still on. As they forced her along, she saw Robbet Glover's dead body, and a couple of other Glover soldiers dead around him in the courtyard. It was as if he was just waiting for the moment eveyrone would be gone, and he did. There was barely anyone left to help her. And the Wildlings were too far away from Winterfell to hear her scream for help.

They forced her into the carriage as gently as they could, but she still fought them. She didn't care whether they would try to hurt her or not, she wanted out. They locked the carriage door and she was stuck inside. She absolutely hated Petyr, and swore to herself she would kill him for this the first chance she got.


	13. Chapter 13: The maester's teachings

_**Author's note repost: Apparently people are having trouble viewing this chapter, and it crashed my own copy? I'll keep re-posting this and figure out what's going on.**_

* * *

Brienne

* * *

She started feeling sick to her stomach. She opened her eyes and realized she was passed out on a table. She raised her head up and looked around, as the Blackfish and Podrick were passed out too. She slowly tried to figure out what had happened. She got up from her seat and looked at everyone's wine. People had either passed out with cups in their hands, or spilled on the table. She picked up a cup from Podrick's hand and smelled the wine. It smelled just a tiny bit off, and as she continued sniffing it, she realized someone had put Nightshade in their cups.

She dropped the cup immediately and quickly tried to process what had happened. She ran past everyone who was mostly passed out and quickly went to Sansa's room. She couldn't know if their plot was toward Sansa, but it was her duty to keep her safe regardless. She busted in the room and noticed she was gone. She looked as her cloak was still hanging in her wardrobe, and hadn't been touched. She had a few ideas for what it could've meant, but disregarded them in a frantic search for her. She went into the lord's chambers and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

She began to wonder if anyone had stayed and didn't go with her brother. She ran out into the Winterfell courtyard searching for her, but instead was greeted by the sight of bodies. She looked over them, and they were Glover soldiers. She noticed Robbet Glover was laying on the ground bleeding from his chest. She ran over to him and asked "Lord Glover!?"

He coughed and spat up some blood as it was pooling around him. She bent down to him and asked "Who did this? Please tell me! Please!"

He coughed hard, and she questioned if he would even be able to speak. He obviously didn't have long to live. She listened to him as he whispered out "Baelish..."

That was the answer she had feared most. Who else would've been smart enough to add Nightshade to everyone's wine. Lord Glover slowly took his last breath and died in front of her. She immediately knew there was only one place he could've taken Sansa, and that was to the Eyrie. She stood up and walked a little ways out of the courtyard of Winterfell, and looked around the entrance. There were horse tracks stretching for quite a while, and the Wildlings were already out of sight. Petyr Baelish knew exactly what he was doing. And it would be hard for her to ever get Sansa back now.

* * *

Jon

* * *

He continued riding to the Wall he could see it from there. At the last minute Robbet had told him he wanted to go back to Winterfell and get supplies, and builders. People who could be able to help rebuild the Wall. He would have preferred that Robbet come with him, but he did have a point. With nearly everyone bringing supplies, they could rebuild the Wall out of hard wood in no time. It seemed the breach in the Wall was large enough for people to walk through, and there were sheets of tiny pieces of ice, and large chunks in the middle. The majority seemed to shatter into tiny pieces however.

"All of you, ride with me to Castle Black. We're going to need to get pickaxes and axes for the trees and uneven ice. We'll get rid of our blockage there, and go through to the other side chopping down the trees for spare wood." He ordered his soldiers.

As he rode to Castle Black, he thought most of how lucky they were that the White Walkers didn't come first. Once they got close to Castle Black, the gates opened for them, then he rode in and dismounted his horse. He saw Edd at the top of the catwalk and walk down some stairs. He smiled as he approached and they hugged each other when they got there.

"I'm glad to see you... I'm glad you came." Edd said.

"How did this happen? I only recently heard of this." He asked.

"I don't know. We were all out here, I was going to send a raven informing you of your brother, but then w-"

He interrupted him asking "Wait, what? What about my brother?"

"Did Duncan not tell you that part too? Your brother came into Castle Black with his arms around a girl who carried him here. He was north of the Wall for one, which surprised me a lot." Edd said casually.

He started thinking back on the rest of his family. It couldn't have been Robb, he was sure he died. Not to mention the traumatic thoughts of little Rickon getting killed right in front of him. It had to have been Bran from the way he described him, saying he was carried in. And Sam had told him he went north beyond the Wall.

"Edd, please, tell me where he is." He said with anxiety in his voice.

"He's in your old chambers, laid down in the bed. You can go see him, I'll take care of your soldiers to rebuild the Wall." Edd told him.

He began walking up the stairs to his room in Castle Black. He was half afraid it was another trick like when Olly told him that Benjen was alive. But he trusted Edd much more than anyone else in Castle Black. Once he got to the door of the Lord Commander's room he stood there for a moment. He turned back looking around a little making sure no one was waiting around the corner to kill him. After he was sure it was safe, he knocked on the door, and then slowly opened it.

When he got inside, he saw a girl in his chair moved next to the bed. She turned her head and stared at him strangely, and he gave her about the same look back. He shut the door behind him and looked at the bed. He couldn't believe it, but Bran was there in the bed.

"Bran..." He whispered.

Bran looked like he was asleep at the moment, and the girl seemed to get a bit of a surprised look to her and seemed to realize who he was. "Are you Jon?" She asked quietly as not to disturb Bran.

He nodded and looked at Bran. He thought back on the time when he was at Winterfell and told him his last goodbye. He wasn't even awake then, and it seemed now he wouldn't be awake reuniting. The girl stood up and told him "We should talk outside of here as to not disturb him..."

He was willing to play along for now. He went back outside the door and she followed him and shut it behind her.

"How do you know my brother?"

"We're friends. My brother and I met him not far north of Winterfell when he escaped." The girl said.

"What's your name? And how did you know me?" He ask curious. He never remembered meeting her. It was possible that Bran told her about him, but how she started to recognize him by face was definitely strange.

"I'm Meera Reed. On our journey up north, we saw you killing traitors of the Night's Watch." She said.

 _Killing traitors?_ Right then he knew where they were. Somehow they managed to make it to Craster's Keep and see him without him noticing. He felt anger building up inside of him, but tried to cool himself down.

"Why? Why didn't you bring Bran to me?" He asked firmly.

"We... we had to go north. He had visions of the three eyed raven in his sleep. It must not make sense to you now, b-"

"No, it doesn't make sense why you wouldn't bring him to me when you were right there!" He interrupted.

She stopped talking for a moment looking at him. He was obviously showing his anger, and she could tell.

"We never forced Bran to come with us. He did it of his own free will. If you don't believe me, you can talk to Bran yourself when he wakes up." Meera told him.

He sighed and composed himself. "Fine. We'll talk when he wakes up."

He turned back to the steps he came up from and went back down.

* * *

Jaime

* * *

Riding his horse to the Twins, the place looked like a mess. He'd figured nobody really wanted to clean up after the celebration they had for taking Riverrun. It was a hard say whether Walder would listen or not. Gold could always easily sway him, but Cersei has access to the whole treasury. He made it to the courtyard of the Twins and saw some Frey soldiers outside. No one tried to stop him when he entered the castle, and they had no reason to. He walked through the castle until he got to the lord's chamber, which smelled awful.

He covered his nose and wondered for a moment what awful food they'd left out to rot from a few nights ago. But he soon realized that wasn't the smell of rotting food, but a rotting corpse. His eyes widened as he saw Walder Frey slumped back in his chair, and drying blood on the wall shaped to say 'The North remembers.'

"Gods be damned..." He mumbled to himself.

He walked up to the high table and looked at his corpse. It seemed he had been dead a while, and his throat was slit. Re-reading the blood on the Wall, only a Northerner could've done this. He arranged the Red Wedding, and they got their revenge. He only wondered who could've. The Blackfish could never have done this, not in such a brutal manner. And nearly all the Starks were dead or missing, and Brienne wouldn't have supported Sansa doing this.

But he had enough thinking, and immediately wanted to get out of there. He walked back down from the table and went back outside. There were Freys all around and quite unorganized, unsure of what to do with themselves.

He went up to a man and asked "You, tell me what happened here."

"There's not much to tell. Someone murdered Walder Frey, and now we have nowhere to go."

If that was the case, than this would be easy.

"Gather the other soldiers here, tell them I want to speak to them all."

The Frey began telling people without questioning his motives. He walked up some steps around the castle gate and looked down at them so they all saw him and heard what he said.

They all gathered up and looked at him, and he said "Walder Frey has passed. His alliance to House Lannister was unquestionable, which means yours is just as so. I was given command over you all at Riverrun, and I still maintain command now. I command you to all come with me to Casterly Rock, and leave this place to ruin."

The Freys didn't put up much of a fight. They were followers, not leaders. And that made it the easiest. Every one of them agreed and was willing to go with him. He walked back down from the steps he had climbed up on, and got back on to his horse. Now he would only have to find other willing supporters.

* * *

Samwell

* * *

"As Grand Maester Kaeth was the Grand Maester in King's landing for around thirty years... incredible." He muttered to himself. There were so many books full of knowledge, and the library was so beautiful to him.

"Samwell Tarly." Maester Astoff called to him. He quickly looked up from his book and the maester said "The Archmaester is ready to see you now."

He set down his book and got up from his seat eager to meet him. He could only imagine what he looked like, how he acted. Very few men in their lifetime must get to meet an archmaester, let alone a grand one. He followed Astoff up a set of stairs. And then another one. And then another. And eventually, some stairs started going down. And then more going down. From all the climbing up and down, he was beginning to get a little worn out. After training his endurance in the Night's Watch, he had gotten more used to long runs. But never had they made him climb so many stairs.

And nobody had dare even try to make him run up the switchback stairs. Thinking of that made him immediately remove any complaints in his thoughts.

Eventually, they stopped at a door and Maester Astoff told him "Archmaester Marwyn shall meet you in here."

He smiled and told him "Thank you."

He disregarded his gratitude and left him alone to speak with him. He entered the room and saw the Archmaester writing something down on some papers.

"Excuse me, are you Archmaester Marwyn?" He asked kindly.

Marwyn looked up to him and said "Ah, you must be Samwell Tarly. Welcome to the Citadel." He said in a nice manner. Quite nicer than Astoff was.

He nodded his head and Marwyn told him "Come, sit down. I'm just finishing up a page on alchemy."

He went over to his desk and sat down in a chair across from him. "So, I hear you're from Castle Black as a part of the Night's Watch. How are things being handled up there?"

"Well... if I'm honest, not very well. The lord commander and maester have died. So I've come here to be Maester Aemon's replacement."

"Maester Aemon Targaryen. I remember him. Never met him personally. But from what I heard, he was a good maester."

"He was." He said quietly.

"Maester Astoff tells me that there was no letters received from Castle Black inquiring for a new maester. He tells me I have to decide if you're allowed to become a maester." Marwyn told him.

He listened quietly, and Marwyn stood up asking "Do you like magic?"

"Magic? Well... I suppose." He said questioningly.

"I've been writing a new book on it all. Most Archmaesters are lucky to have written a single book that gets recognition, but this one will blow all the maesters' beliefs. Did you know most of them think magic never existed in the first place?"

"Yes... which makes me wonder why you do." He asked curious.

Marwyn walked over to another table, and brought back some papers he had written on the subject. He laid them in front of Sam and said "Because I'm not deaf. Have you heard the stories that have been circulating about the Dragon Queen?"

He shook his head and Marwyn told him "There is a woman named Daenerys Targaryen. People have been saying she gave birth to three dragons. And I need to see for myself. That would be proof to the dumbfounded Archmaesters that magic does exist. And why we should study it, and use it."

Sam looked at the papers he laid out on the table and they read about dragons, and magic that caused them to breathe fire.

"That sounds like an interesting idea. But what does this mean for me?" He asked.

"I will permit you to learn here to become a maester. You may train for as long as you'd like until you feel ready to go back to Castle Black. Unfortunately you will not be training under me for quite a while. The maesters would do everything they could to keep me from training someone to think the way I do, and I am going to visit this... Dragon Queen."

He smiled and stood up saying "Thank you, Archmaester."

"I wish you the best in learning here, Samwell." Marwyn stated kindly.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

She couldn't remember the last time she had beat on the carriage door, or tried picking the lock. The door itself was barred on the outside though, so picking it was not useful once she had found out. She also couldn't remember when she fell asleep, but she started waking up in a warm bed. She jumped up and immediately looked around her. How could she have fallen asleep? How would they not have waken her up when they moved her? As she got up she noticed her clothes were different from what she wore before.

 _That bastard unclothed me!_ She thought to herself. She didn't feel raped however. Not like with Ramsay, she would know if he had touched her during her sleep. She put on some slippers nearby her bed and went to the window of the room. She drew back the curtains and looked outside. A cold gust of wind blew in and she shivered a little from the sensation. The ground was very far down, and she was likely already at the Eyrie. She went to the door of her room and tried opening it, but it was locked. She felt incredibly angry inside.

She went back to her bed and sat down in thought. She was sick of being a hostage, sick of being a prisoner. It was all she had been the past few years. Even if she managed to escape this time, she had no warm clothing to bring with her, and it was snowing. She heard a knock at the door and stood up looking at it. She glanced around for any sort of weapon, but there was nothing she could use to kill Petyr. The door opened, and he walked in with two bodyguards.

He walked up to her and said "Sansa..."

She didn't care for whatever he had to say, and slapped him across his cheek. He quickly stepped back, running his hand along where he had been struck.

His bodyguards approached her and he said "No... don't hurt her. The poor girl's been through enough."

The bodyguards stepped back and she asked "Oh, been through enough have I? Then why did you take me from my own home!?"

"I'm sorry if I had worried you, I would never hurt you." He told her calmly.

"Hurt me? But what about Lord Glover? I saw his body in the courtyard!" She knew that was his body, it looked like no one else.

"I had thought most of your half brother's army had left to join him at the wall. I was quite surprised when he came back saying he needed supplies to help rebuild it. I took no pleasure in having him killed, but to be with you?" He said creepily calm.

"Than you killed an ally to the north, and you are a traitor. You told me you declared for House Stark, yet you go around killing our allies. That makes you a traitor." She said harshly.

"What are you going to do? The Vale is ten thousand strong, your brother only has... just over two thousand now that the battle is over?" He told her.

"You waited for this. You waited, and plotted and executed. I should have had my brother kill you." She said coldly.

"Sansa, I have tried and tried again to help you. With Lord Glover dead, Jon Snow has command over all his army. That can never be taken away now. I can apologize for giving you to Ramsay, but I told you I wouldn't force you to do it. If you had told me you wouldn't go no matter what, and turn the cart around, we would have come straight back here with no questions asked."

She fell quiet after he had said that. He had given her the option to turn back. Would he have let her go back? It didn't matter to her, especially now. She wouldn't just forgive him instantly because he said he was sorry, and he didn't mean it, didn't force her. And Robbet Glover.

"Sansa, look at me." He said.

She kept her head down not daring to look at him, but he came over and took her face into his hands and brought her eyes to his.

"I will never hurt you. These men will never hurt you, I'll make sure of it. I took you away from your brother because you deserve more than being just 'Lady of Winterfell.' You can rule the Seven Kingdoms as queen of Westeros, as you were always destined to be with Joffrey. That Wildling your brother is obsessed with can be Wardeness of the North, but you can rule with me..." He told her softly.

She couldn't tell if that was what she wanted. She didn't know anything about what she wanted anymore. Somewhere within her however, she felt she could rule. She was raised up to be a noble lady, and with him she might possibly have that chance.

"I wont make you decide now. I will leave these men outside your room at all times. And if you need anything, they will get it for you." He informed her.

"And what if I just want to go home...?" She said quietly.

"You are not my hostage Sansa. Tomorrow if you want to leave, I won't force you to stay here. But if you do stay... we may work together. At Winterfell you may be ignored, cast aside as unimportant. But here... I will take care of you." He told her.

Petyr looked like he may have been close to kissing her, but he stopped himself. He probably knew his limits at this point, and wasn't going to cross them so soon. She nearly shivered thinking what lines he would cross. He left her in her room and his bodyguards shut the door, and seemed like they were going to stay.

* * *

Bran

* * *

This time, he saw King's Landing. But it didn't look right, buildings were on fire with green flames. People were screaming and being burned alive. He looked to the Red Keep and began walking into it. Inside he saw Aerys Targaryen sitting on the Iron Throne. He was back during the Mad King's reign. He saw Jaime Lannister, and a pyromancer.

"Please your grace, surrender. My father is coming, and all his army with it. You won't win, I promise you. He will kill you, and everyone else here if he has to. Surrender." Jaime begged him.

"I am the dragon! No man shall kill the dragon! Besides, I do not have to take advice from you." Aerys spat back.

"I would not worry, your grace. The Lannisters will not dare challenge your authority. You can trust them. The Lannisters have always been true friends of the crown. You can tell by Ser Jaime being here right now." Grand Maester Pycelle told him.

Aerys smiled wickedly, and said "I know they will. Open the gates for them, we will show them how we deal with the other traitors to the crown when those rebels arrive."

"Of course your grace." The pyromancer agreed as he left the Red Keep.

Things started fading to darkness around him, and then he saw the front gates to King's Landing. The pyromancers opened the gates and the Lannisters began calmly riding in. It wasn't for long however, as they began killing the pyromancers and leaving the gate open for the rest of the army. It faded again and he saw Aerys in the Throne room once again.

"Those traitors!" Aerys shouted so loud it echoed in the room.

"Your grace. Please, I urge you to surrender. He has the city now, you can't win." Jaime told Aerys.

"I will never surrender... I am the dragon... burn them all..." Aerys said.

The pyromancer didn't quite understand and asked "What was that your grace?"

"BURN THEM ALL!" Aerys yelled as loud as he could.

They both went silent.

"Ser Jaime, kill Tywin Lannister and bring me his head!" Aerys shouted.

Jaime looked at him in silence.

"I command you!" Aerys yelled at him.

Jaime drew his sword and stabbed the pyromancer. through his side. The pyromancer yelled and fell to the ground off of Jaime's sword. Aerys looked at him surprised at what he had done. Aerys jumped up from the throne and tried to run away, but Jaime caught him by his cape, and stabbed him through his back. Aerys yelled loudly and scary as blood began spilling out of him.

Somehow, he kept screaming "BURN THEM ALL!" As he was dying.

Jaime ripped the sword out of him and blood dripped off of it. Aerys fell on to the floor, yet was still saying as loud as he could while the life faded out of him "Burn them all! Burn them all! Burn them-"

Jaime bent down and slit his throat with his sword, ending him for good. He had to look away a little as it got more gruesome. He watched as Jaime looked over the Iron Throne and sat down in it. Afterward, he woke up.

* * *

 _ **So, I'm sorry this took so long. But at the same time, I'm really not. Good storytelling does take a lot of time to think up, and I'm going at it in a comfortable pace. So, I am going to be taking a little bit of a break more often now since this is going well and I feel taking off time helps me think more. As usual promises go. "Never quitting, 3 days to 3 weeks release time, enjoy writing it."**_

 _ **Also, I'm going to be keeping these notes more toward the bottom from now on if I want to address some of the things in this chapter without spoilers. Anyway, I think that's all that needs to be said. I love the support everyone has been giving, it is just amazing. This story has 13,000+ views which is just more crazy! (to be fair, some are returning people reading multiple times.) And that is just crazy. Thank you everyone for following this story.**_

 _ **And even those who don't follow, and just took the time to read the story, or leave a comment. My thanks go out to you.**_

 _ **Enjoy Chapter 13**_


	14. Chapter 14: Lions and dragons

Bran

* * *

Jon was looking over him, and he sat himself up. He looked so different since he had last seen him before he fell from the tower.

He smiled a little saying his name "Jon."

"Bran." He answered back.

Jon bent down to his level on the bed, and they hugged each other. "I've missed you." He said more into his cloak, as it took up some of his face while he hugged.

"I've missed you too... I'm sorry for what happened to your legs." He said kindly.

They let go of each other and he said "I've learned to be okay with it."

Meera suddenly came in, and he smiled seeing her too. "Meera, have you met Jon yet?"

"We have... we had some disagreements, but..." Jon trailed off.

"What kind of disagreements?" He asked curious as to what happened.

"Your brother was more than a little upset when I told him we took you to the Three Eyed Raven instead of him." Meera said.

He started to see things from Jon's point of view. It probably would have aggravated him too had he been at the Wall, and it was Jon going north.

"I'm sorry, but I had to. I had to find the Three Eyed Raven. I've been having visions ever since the day I fell out of the tower." He tried telling him.

"What is this 'Three Eyed Raven' I keep hearing about? What is all of that supposed to even mean?" Jon asked confused.

"We went up north to find him, and he taught me how to see visions in the past. Or at least tried to. But the Night King came... and he killed him. And Summer, and the Children. We wouldn't have been able to escape if Hodor hadn't stayed behind."

Saying all of that to him made him think about how crazy he must've sounded. If he were someone else, he definitely wouldn't have believed him had he not seen it for himself. However, Jon took a moment before speaking.

"You saw the Night King...?" Jon said.

He nodded. "So what did you achieve in doing all of this?"

He was surprised he was so quick to believe him all of sudden simply because of the Night King. But through his vision of a Wildling camp, he saw Jon fighting them there. And the Night King stared at him.

"The Three Eyed Raven was a man... we met, and now I've been seeing visions of my father's past... and of your past." He told him.

"Mine? What's so important about me?" Jon asked.

Was now even the time to tell him? Their father had never even told him who his mother was, and that he wasn't even his father at all...

"Meera, could you leave us alone for a little while?" He asked her.

She nodded and stepped outside. "Jon... you're not who you think you are..."

"Well if that's not the most cryptic thing I've ever heard..." Jon said with a light smile

"I saw a vision into the past when father was at the Tower of Joy. He went to rescue his sister Lyanna. She was dying by the time father could get there... she had a baby... named Veinys." He told him.

"She had a baby? Than where's our cousin?" Jon asked a little concerned for how exactly that had happened.

"He's closer than you think... Jon. It's you."

"Bran, that's not funny."

"I'm serious, Ned isn't your father, it's Rhaegar Targaryen. Lyanna thought if King Robert knew, he'd have you killed like all the other Targaryens. So my father... pretended you were his bastard..." He told him seriously.

"Aye, and what's that supposed to mean? I'm a bastard to someone else instead? My father's not my father, and instead I was born because Rhaegar decided to rape my mother in that tower!?" He asked barely able to keep up.

"I don't know what it means. Maybe it wasn't supposed to mean anything, but the Three Eyed Raven didn't want me to see it for some reason. I just... thought you should know why father never told you. He never told me either, and with the way mother used to hate you, he couldn't have told her too. The only other person who was there and is still alive was Howland Reed. Maybe you should ask him..."

Jon took a deep breath and looked like he started thinking about it all. It was a shock for him to learn, he could only imagine how it was for his cousin to learn he's not brother.

"So that's it... Lyanna was my mother, and he never told me because I'm a bastard Targaryen."

"You might not even be a bastard anymore for all I know. I've only seen so many visions, and I can't always control them. But I can keep trying to find out for you..."

"How? Do you just... sleep and dream of it? Or..."

"It's like warging... have you ever heard of that?" He doubted he had, but it was possible.

"Yes, when I was in a camp with the free folk, they had a man who warged an eagle. Well... however you do it, don't overwork yourself. I'll see if I can get Lord Reed to come visit us here in Castle Black." Jon said. He then stood up about to leave.

"And also, Howland Reed is Meera's father. I'm sure he'd be grateful to see her again." He added.

Jon gave a small chuckle, and said "There's so much you have to catch me up on with what you've been doing."

He then left him alone in the room. Things were quiet, and now seemed like an okay time to try and look into a vision. He laid his head back on his pillow and waited. He then began hearing the sounds of a blizzard blowing. And then, he saw the Night King. He jumped back, but this time he didn't see him. He was looking toward the damaged part of the Wall. It was scary, that meant he knew when it broke. He then looked at his hand, and he was holding a strange horn shaped object. That only made him more curious as to what it was, but he wasn't daring get any closer to him in risk of the Night King seeing him.

Finally, things started changing around him. Things went dark for a while, and then he was in a forest. He saw Lyanna, and who must've been Rhaegar. They were each other's hands and looking into their eyes.

"I don't want to marry Robert... but I have to. It's my duty." She Said.

"Then don't marry him. Come with me, we can run away together. You shouldn't have to be forced into marriage." Rhaegar told her.

"I can't. I wish I could, but he would come after us. And I wouldn't want him to hurt you..." She cried a little as she said it.

"Him hurting you is more important than him hurting me. And besides... I won't let him. I would start a war before I let him hurt you... I love you Lyanna. Please, come with me." Rhaegar said.

"Rhaegar..." She trailed off.

Rhaegar took her face into his hands and kissed her.

* * *

Jon

* * *

Once he left Bran inside, the gates of Castle Black began to open, and Tormund came in with Ygritte and some other free folk. And lots of them were carrying wood and nails either on horses, or in backpacks when no horses could be found. He smiled a little seeing them there. Ygritte dismounted from her horse and then came up to him and kissed him. He gave her the same, and hugged her.

"You scared me back there at the camp. I thought you might not have been alive by the time we got here." She said.

"Don't worry about me. We'll need to keep our heads held high when the Walkers come. We were lucky enough to have gotten here before they did, but I only worry what other parts of the Wall may have broken off that we just couldn't see."

"I can tell Tormund to take some of our people and have them patrol the Wall."

"That would be preferable. We might have enough people now to man the whole wall, assuming the Vale comes to our aid."

They looked into each others eyes, but were interrupted when Edd shouted from the catwalk "Jon! Letter for you from Winterfell!"

He turned his head toward Edd, and then said "I suppose a king's work is never finished hmm?"

Ygritte smiled a little. "Come find me when you're finished with your crow's business, and then we'll see about your crow's pecker." She said suggestively.

The pun was so awful he could feel his face about to cringe, but he made sure not to show it. And he had serious responsibilities here, so he kept his more professional look. Ygritte walked back to Tormund, and he walked up the stairs to the catwalk.

"What's this letter?" He asked Edd when he got there.

"I haven't read it, I figured it'd be best for you to see yourself." Edd told him.

He handed him the letter, and he took it and broke the seal off of it. He looked at the words written down and read them out loud.

"To Jon Snow, King of the North. During the preparations for your departure, everyone including myself had lunch not long after you had left. However in our wine, Petyr Baelish slipped nightshade..." He trailed off barely able to speak anymore.

Edd looked at him suspiciously, and he gave Edd the letter, unable to read it anymore.

"By the time we all woke up, Sansa Stark had been kidnapped and taken back to the Eyrie, along with the knights of the Vale. Should the Wall no longer be in danger, we request your immediate presence back in Winterfell, to restore order and plan our next move. Signed Ser Davos, of House Seaworth." Edd finished.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I should've never left Sansa at Winterfell all on her own with only a few Manderly and Glover soldiers to guard her. I thought the White Walkers would come for sure, but instead I traded my sister for a brother." He said quietly.

"Then we'll get her back." Edd assured him.

"Edd, do you know how many soldiers the Vale has? Ten thousand. We only won the battle against the Boltons because they were on our side." He informed him.

Edd went quiet for a moment and said "Then you'll need to get more."

"Where can I find more? I've gotten every house in the North, but it's still not enough."

"I don't know..." Edd trailed off.

He sighed, but then Edd said again "But I know you can't focus on both. If you do manage to get an army, and you do manage to save your sister... what if the White Walkers come? They've killed nearly every living person beyond the Wall, which means we have to be next. Maybe you will have enough time to save your sister and come back, but we won't have an army if they decide to attack sooner rather than later."

"I have to save Sansa. She's my family." He told him.

"Grenn told me before about how him, Pyp, and Sam all went after you when you wanted to leave the Night's Watch. You wanted to go join your brother Robb, and fight in the war... he died anyway, and you chose to stay at here at Castle Black. And Maester Aemon would go on and on to Sam about choosing love before duty. If you want to go, I won't try to stop you like they did. But if the White Walkers come and break down that Wall... will there even be a world for you and Sansa to live in? For you and Ygritte? For any of us?"

Listening to him, he had a point. And he'd have to consider it...

* * *

Tyrion

* * *

Sitting in his cabin, he was reading a book about the dragons of Valyria. It wasn't the first time he had read that book, but now he was just reading it to see how many facts they got wrong since he'd seen Viserion and Rhaegal. Up on the top deck, he heard someone shout "Land ahoy!"

He put down the book and began walking up the stairs to the top deck. To his amazement, they were nearly there. Westeros was visible. Most of the ships began dropping anchors since there weren't enough docks in all of the North to handle all of their ships. He got a small shiver down him. It was definitely colder than he remembered, and there was even snow falling onto the water, and plenty on land. He looked at the Unsullied soldiers, and they didn't care how cold it was.

"How you handle such whether, I shall never know."

Even the Dothraki weren't wearing warm clothing. He walked up another set of stairs and saw Daenerys wearing a cloak now, but still not the warmest clothing. He figured perhaps it had something to do with her Targaryen blood, and resistance to heat. Missandei was there too, but in furs, and wearing a cloak. Much warmer than what she was wearing.

"Well, this is it. This is Westeros... is it all that you were expecting?" He asked.

"I've been learning about the Iron Throne all my life. I had considered the North would be... different, to say the least." Daenerys replied.

"My visit here wasn't all that great either. How the Starks handle such whether is unfathomable... doesn't seem to bother you however."

Their ship finally anchored, and the Unsullied began lowering down the dinghies. Daenerys went to one of the dinghies, and got on. He climbed on to the railing and got on with her. Missandei soon followed and an Unsullied lowered it.

"So, who wants to row?" He asked.

Daenerys and Missandei looked at him, and he quickly figured out the answer.

"Of course. Make the dwarf row." He joked.

"Your stature has not stopped you so far. Unless you wish to admit rowing a boat is too difficult a task compared to killing men." Daenerys told him.

He smirked a little, and then rowed the boat.

After a while, the dinghy rowed on to shore and everyone got off. There were no horses they could bring, so most of their traveling would be on foot. He heard Drogon making some noise, and looked up. He began flying down to the shore and rested. They had been flying a long time, so that was to be expected. And now their next task, was to meet the King in the North. He'd barely remembered how old he was now. _Nineteen?_ He thought. He was quite young to be named King of the North, but so was Robb Stark.

"Winterfell should be just west of here. If we go along a straight path, we'll be there quite quickly."

"Than we should not waste time." Daenerys said.

He began following her, and the other Unsullied soldiers started catching up and following along as well.

* * *

Cersei

* * *

She was sitting on the Iron Throne for the moment. She was now in a position to take revenge on everyone who had ever hurt her. And Sansa's name immediately came to mind. She had killed the Sparrow for Tommen, and now she needed Sansa for Joffrey.

"Maester Qyburn." She said.

He lowered his head and asked "Yes, your grace?"

"Where did my brother Jaime go?" She asked him.

"I'm afraid he is against your rule, your grace. He fled to casterly rock with the army he had at Riverrun, and is claiming to be the heir to the Iron Throne." He told her.

Inside, she felt betrayed. She wanted to hate him, but she could not force herself to. But she would not let him take the throne. He didn't earn it, and he doesn't deserve it.

"And what of Sansa Stark?" She asked.

"Pardon me your grace?" Qyburn asked a little surprised.

"Petyr Baelish came to me before the faith of the seven took over. He informed me of House Bolton withholding Sansa Stark. And that the Bolton bastard married himself to her. Where is she now?" She asked him.

"I am afraid she is no longer there your grace. My little birds tell me that Lord Baelish has taken her to the Eyrie, and the Winterfell is no longer in Bolton control." He said softly.

"Who has it then?" She asked coldly.

"Jon Snow, the bastard son of Ned Stark. He killed Ramsay Bolton and took the castle for himself."

"How many people still fight for the Starks?" She asked him.

"Our estimates are around two to three thousand, your grace. He suffered losses attacking House Bolton. Lord Baelish declared for House Stark, but this was recently, and he has no soldiers stationed at Winterfell." He informed her.

She felt anger toward the bastard, and said "Send four thousand of our Lannister soldiers to Winterfell. Take the castle from that bastard, and assign a commander fit for the siege."

"Are you sure your grace?" Qyburn asked quietly.

"I have given you a command, so make it happen." She told him harshly.

He bowed his head and walked to another part of the Red Keep.

* * *

Samwell

* * *

"And that's all for today Tarly. Study those books, and I'm sure you will... and memorize the names of those muscles." Maester Elwyn told him.

"Of course Maester Elwyn." He assured him.

He picked up his papers and put them into his notebook. He then left Maester Elwyn's class. He walked back to the Citadel entrance since all his classes had been settled for the day. He opened the door and walked down the steps leading to it. He began walking to the inn he'd picked out. It was quite close to the Citadel so if Gilly ever needed anything, he was close by. He entered the inn and went to their room. Upon opening the door, he discovered that Gilly wasn't there, and neither was little Sam. That seemed a little unusual, but maybe she was in the bathroom, or out getting something to eat.

He knocked on the bathroom door and asked "Gilly? Are you in there?"

No one answered but he wasn't all to concerned Until he turned around and saw Heartsbane was gone from the display rack he left it on.

He got down on to the floor and reached underneath the bed and pulled out his sword taken from the Night's watch, just in case. He walked back out to the living room of the inn, and went to the owner. She was kind enough to have given them the room, and listened to their story of how they ended up there.

"Mary, have you seen Gilly?" He asked.

"No, I'm afraid. She hasn't come in at all today." Mary answered.

"Right... thanks anyway, I've got to go." He said quickly.

He turned around and began leaving the inn. _The tailor's. She has to be there, maybe they had her work late... or maybe she stopped somewhere to go shopping... please let her have just been shopping._ He thought to himself.

He was in quite a state of panic and needed to know that she was okay. But she had no reason to take Heartsbane, so that was worrying him the most. He ran as quickly as he could bumping into people ever so often, and then got to the tailor's store. He ran in and saw the person manning the front was knocked unconscious. Now he knew something wasn't right. Suddenly he heard Gilly scream. He immediately drew his sword and began running in, but suddenly he was on the floor and felt a bleeding wound on his nose.

He looked around him and saw his father who had struck him, his brother who stood beside him with Heartsbane at the ready, and Gilly holding baby Sam.

"Sam!" He heard Gilly shout.

"Be quiet. You're already lucky I don't kill you because of your child." Randyll told her.

He raised his sword up to him to try and stab him, but Randyll stomped his foot on his hand, causing him to stop.

"Do you understand what you've done to my family? Do you!?" Randyll shouted.

"Heartsbane was mine to begin with! You forced me to go to the Night's Watch because you said you'd kill me otherwise!" He shouted.

"Because Heartsbane belongs to a real man. Because House Tarly deserves to be ruled by a real man. Not. You." Randyll spat back with anger.

He looked at him, as suddenly he didn't seem to care anymore. "I let you live, I let you join the Night's Watch and I would've let your Wildling bitch stay too had you not taken it and left. No... I failed you. I failed in raising you to be a true man... and now I have to pay the price."

Randyll looked to his brother and said "Dickon... kill him."

"Wait... what!?" Dickon yelled.

"I gave him his chance, it's over now. Kill him yourself and prove to be a strong lord as you should be. Either that, or I will. And then I'll show you what it takes to be a real man." Randyll told him.

Dickon looked down at him. "Dickon, w-"

"You will not speak. I won't have you clouding my son's mind!" He interrupted him.

"No! Don't hurt him! We'll do whatever you want. We'll let you keep the sword, you'll never have to hear from us again!" Gilly pleaded for him.

"Now Dickon!" Randyll shouted.

He saw his brother standing over him with the sword pointed toward him. His brother raised it suddenly, and he shut his eyes in shock of what was about to happen, and then felt nothing.

* * *

 _ **Author's note: So, a lot happened this chapter. There was some backstory to Rhaegar Targaryen, and Lyanna Stark's relationship. Bran still doesn't know if Jon is a bastard, but it was most likely not kidnapping. (provided the vision I wrote) There's some setup to a Lannister and Targaryen conflict with Cersei sending Lannisters to attack Winterfell, and Daenerys going to meet Jon there. But she doesn't know he left of course. The Night King knows about the Wall getting a piece broken off, and some book readers may realize what he was holding.**_

 _ **Now for the elephant in the room. Samwell's fate. I would rather not go into great detail about that, but that is not the last we'll be seeing of Gilly and little Sam just because Samwell can't be a POV. There will be tying up loose ends involving Randyll and Dickon which will need explaining. So, I won't talk about it in pm's or author's notes until I release the next chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you everyone for all the support and constructive criticism in the story. (Although there's hardly any criticism) I am updating this story a little late, but quality over quantity.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed Chapter 14. (Apologies for no Sansa this chapter since her story is getting really interesting, expect her in the next one.)**_


	15. Chapter 15: Watchers on the Wall

**_Note 1: If no one saw this first POV coming, I'd be surprised._**

* * *

Samwell

* * *

He felt nothing. He didn't feel anything touch him at all. _Am I dead_ _?_ He thought to himself. He then started to feel dripping on his shirt, and he opened his eyes back up. He saw Heartsbane plunged through his father's throat. Dickon pulled it back out of him, and Randyll dropped to the floor bleeding out.

"I'm sorry father..." Dickon said to his body.

He looked to him in shock. His own brother saved him, even though his father accepted him - loved him even. All so he could live. He grabbed on to a table and pulled himself up to to a stand.

"Are you okay?" Gilly asked.

"Yes, I'm fine dear." He assured her.

Little Sam cried seeing someone die and she held him, comforting him.

Dickon looked a little unsure of what he'd just done. And he could only imagine. Even he wouldn't have killed Randyll, despite his disliking of him.

"Are you okay, Dickon?" He asked him.

"I killed him... I killed our father to save you... and I keep telling myself in my head it was the right thing to do." Dickon said a little shaky in his voice.

"You did... he would've killed me." He told him.

"Where are you going to go?" Dickon asked.

"I'm going to stay here, and continue learning at the citadel how to become a maester." He told him.

"You could come back and rule at House Tarly with me if you want... you were his first born." Dickon said.

"I'm afraid I cant. I already swore my vows to the Night's Watch, and if I break them now I would be executed for desertion. Go home... tell mother what happened, and tell her I'm sorry that I made you have to make that choice." He told him.

His brother fell quiet and then took his scabbard off and put Heartsbane in it. He handed it over to him and said "Take it, Sam. It was always meant to be yours anyway."

He stood quietly looking at the sword. "Are you sure? You'd fight better with it." He mentioned.

"I'm sure." His brother said.

He took the sword and said "Thank you, brother."

Dickon nodded to him, and then left the tailor's shop. He looked back to Gilly, and took her by her hand and lead her away from the room, and away from his body. If they were caught near his body, the guards of Oldtown would surely execute them all. He continued leading her back to their inn while she carried little Sam.

Eventually, they made it back and she sat down on the bed.

"Are you okay? Did Randyll ever hurt you?" He asked concerned.

"No... you came pretty quickly after he did. He was using me as a- a bait to draw you to him so he could kill you." She said.

Words couldn't describe how sorry he felt for leaving her alone. He felt wrong to have put her in danger all over a stupid sword. But now he would be able to test it to see if it could kill White Walkers.

"I'm sorry for taking the sword. I should've never put you and little Sam in danger." He told her.

"Your father didn't deserve to have it anyway. He was a cruel man, you're not. I'm just happy you came to help us, and your brother stepped in." She said.

She kissed him on his lips, and he hugged her while doing so.

* * *

Davos

* * *

After Sansa was gone, he took it upon himself to rule as Lord of Winterfell in her stead. In the lord's chamber, there was plenty of loud voices and talking back and forth. Everyone was either panicked, or angry.

"Attention! Can I have your attention please!?" He shouted trying to get them to listen.

They didn't pay much attention to him, but the Blackfish drew his sword and slammed the pommel on to the table. The loud sound it made got everyone to pay attention to him.

"Thank you..." He quietly thanked the Blackfish.

"Now, I know we're all concerned about Sansa Stark's sudden capture. However we must maintain order in Winterfell. During Jon Snow's preparation on the battle to take this castle back, he came to me often to help advise him on strategies we should use. The Blackfish was a marvel in it too, and I wish we could've only used his plan. It surely would have saved many lives. However, things could not go according to plan."

In the middle of his speech, he heard a man outside shout "Someone's at the gate!" And lots of footsteps.

Some of the lords began rising up from their seats and looking out the windows. It seemed whatever it was, it was most likely important. He got up from his own seat and began walking outside to the courtyard. There were plenty of people and he climbed up some steps to look over the castle gate and saw an entire army being lead by a woman at the front. They were wearing leather armor, which didn't seem all that effective for stopping a blade. He then thought of the book he read on his way to the Iron Bank.

He was no professional at reading, but if he read it correctly, the soldiers fit the description of the Unsullied slaves in Essos. He opened his mouth to start a sentence, but didn't really know how to phrase it. There was an entire army at their gate, and it was possible little things he said could cause an attack.

Thankfully, the woman spoke first. "I am Daenerys Targaryen, rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, here to speak with the King of the North." She said.

 _'The King of the North?'_ He thought.

That could be a problem. He wasn't here, and he had no idea if this was a siege or a meeting.

"I am Davos Seaworth, may I ask what for?" He questioned.

"A negotiation of joining forces. The rest would better be spoken in private." She said.

He turned to the Blackfish, and he tilted his head a little. It seemed they were both at a loss for what to do. If this was a trick, they'd have to play it safe. Otherwise they could be killed.

"I'm very sorry, your grace. Jon Snow, the King in the North, is no longer here at Winterfell. Myself, and the Blackfish here are the only ones with authority left over Winterfell for the time being." He told her.

She went quiet for a moment, and started talking to a dwarf next to her. Things were feeling very tense for him, and then he heard a screeching sound come from the sky. Plenty of soldiers heard it too, and looked up to see what it was. To his amazement, he saw a dragon fly over Winterfell and toward the Unsullied army. He thought it was just a myth, a story told by soldiers to scare their enemies. Like how the Starks talked of Robb being a werewolf, and eating people alive.

The dragon landed close to Daenerys, and she asked "Very well then... where is he?"

He considered if even telling her was the best idea. However before anything could happen, another dragon flying above started looking anxious about something. Daenerys seemed to pick up on it too, and he looked to the distance of where the other dragon was looking. When he squinted, he noticed plenty of Lannister soldiers marching toward Winterfell. They must have heard of Jon's claim on Winterfell, and becoming King of the North.

"The Lannisters. They must want revenge on my grand niece and nephew for taking the castle back." The Blackfish stated.

Daenerys didn't seem to look too happy at the sight of them either.

"Your grace, if you help us defend the castle, I will tell you where to find Jon Snow. You can discuss with him immediately. Besides, it's a mutual benefit. You're the true ruler of the seven kingdoms, right? Then fight the Lannisters with us and prove your authority over it!" He told her.

Daenerys took only a couple seconds to consider his point, and answered "Very well."

She then got on the big black dragon. _Gods... she's going to ride it._ He thought.

Daenerys said something he didn't understand and the dragon took off. It was quite impressive to watch, and just seeing a dragon in person. Jon had taken most of the Stark soldiers, so he couldn't really do much with their army except watch hers. The Lannisters were marching toward Winterfell, however they stood there ground very quickly after seeing the Unsullied. Daenerys flew up on her dragon, and it breathed fire on to their soldiers. They stood no chance. They didn't have many archers, and the archers they did have were killed first.

The Unsullied charged toward them with their shields up high and killed the swordsmen quickly as well. Before he could even think or do anything, the Lannisters were already retreating. It didn't last long however, and they were all killed during the retreat. Her army barely lost any people at all. It was hardly a battle, it was more like suicide for the Lannisters.

Eventually, Daenerys rode back on her dragon and landed it in front of Winterfell. She did her part of the deal, now he would have to live up to his...

"So... where is Jon Snow?" She asked.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

She left the room with the guards at her side to go and meet Petyr. He noticed he was telling Robin something, but he made him run off after she had come. She was conflicted on what she should do, but now seemed like the time to decide.

"Sansa, I'm glad to see you are out of your room. You have been in there for quite some time." He said.

"You told me about an offer... to take the Iron Throne from Cersei." She mentioned.

"I did."

"What kind of offer? How would you even go about taking it? She has plenty of Lannister soldiers between her and the throne." She told him.

"Her brother, Jaime, has formed an army at Casterly Rock to take the Iron Throne back from her. Cersei's forces are divided between serving Jaime and her. Her son Tommen is dead, and she was named Queen of the seven kingdoms. However by king's law, Jaime would be the next in line. Tommen released him of his oath to the Kingsguard, which means he can take the throne from her." Petyr said.

 _Jaime? Why him? Of all people._ She thought to herself.

"What do you want with Jaime Lannister?" She asked.

"You can come with me. We'll offer him the Knights of the Vale, and in return he will present us the Iron Throne. We will allow him to step down, and go back to Casterly Rock and rule over House Lannister in peace for the rest of his days." He suggested.

"And why should we let him? My mother thought him and Cersei pushed Bran out of a tower." She told him.

"We don't have to. We can lie to him, let him think he's got all he needs and when we take the Iron Throne from Queen Cersei, we'll have them both executed. No one will be able to challenge our authority." He suggested.

It seemed like a pretty good plan. She was no expert on battle tactics, but he came up with a pretty solid idea.

"Alright. We'll do it together then. I'll follow your plan." She told him.

Petyr smiled strangely, which she didn't know whether it worried her or gave her confidence to manipulate him back.

"Very good, my dear. Then I suppose you should get whatever clothes you need packing ready. We'll leave in the morning. Guards, you no longer need to watch over her." He said.

She turned her back and made her way back to her room. The guards thankfully didn't follow that time.

* * *

Jon

* * *

Looking at the wall, it was three fourths of the way done. The only thing that worried him was would it withstand an attack from the White Walkers. At Hardhome, they managed to break through the gate using their bare hands. Others used axes and swords. They waxed the wood however, so it was likely to not catch fire.

As he was watching the part of the Wall being rebuilt, he heard someone shout "Lord Commander!"

He turned his head and walked over to the watchman at the gate. He wasn't Lord Commander anymore, but he'd given up a while ago on trying to make them call him by his name.

"What is it?" He asked him.

"There's a small group of visitors at the gate. They're looking for you specifically." The guard answered.

"Are they armed?"

"Yes, but they say they come in peace." The Watchman told him.

He looked over to a couple of the free folk and waved them over to him. They came to him and kept their hands on their weapons in case of anything suspicious. He nodded to the watchman, and he opened the gate. There were about twelve people on horseback who rode in.

One man looked like he'd lost a hundred battles, and had plenty of scars to prove it. And another one with a large beard, and his hair tied into a knot above his head. And another one, who looked like he had half his face burned off.

They dismounted from their horses, and the free folk stepped closer to him, ready to protect him if they tried anything.

"Greetings. Are you, Jon Snow?" The scarred man asked.

"Yes, how can I help you?"

"I am Beric Dondarrion. I've been leading the brotherhood without banners for quite some time. This is Thoros of Myr, and Sandor Clegane. We've come all the way from the Riverlands to meet you." He stated.

 _Sandor Clegane?_ He thought.

At first he thought he'd misheard him, but it started to resemble him. He'd only seen him for a very short time in Winterfell just before he left for the Wall. He was following Prince Joffrey, at the time.

"So why have you come all this way?" He asked.

"A red priestess told us you were brought back from the dead by the Lord of Light... so was I." Beric said.

"Melisandre... aye, she brought me back somehow. You say you were brought back as well?" He questioned.

"Thoros, is the one who brought me back. The Lord of Light has great plans for us both. He wouldn't have brought us back if he didn't." Beric said.

"And what are these plans?" He asked curiously. He started to wonder if Beric knew something he didn't.

"Being a man of the Night's Watch, you must've seen them. The long night is coming, and so are the White Walkers. And if we're to survive, we'll all need to fight them together." Thoros said.

"How am I supposed to get everyone together? My sister just went missing, and I only have around two thousand free folk to help man the Wall. Three thousand, if we're being generous. And just by looking at the Wall it looks weakened from the part that fell off. So how am I supposed to single-handedly unite every house in Westeros to fight an enemy they don't even think exists?" He said skeptically.

"You won't do it 'Single-handedly.' We'll help you because we know you'll need it." Beric said.

He heard the horn above the Wall blow once. His heart sank to his stomach. He knew he didn't send any rangers out beyond the Wall.

"Come with me, we'll need to get on the elevator." He told Beric and his group.

As they walked to the elevator, he heard the horn blow a second time.

 _Please let the be the last time. Just a couple of free folk come to join them._ He told himself.

As the elevator cranked up, he heard the third blast. He shut his eyes and prayed for the elevator to go faster.

"Your horn blew three times... two is for Wildlings. Don't tell me what three is for..." Thoros said.

"I don't need to. We both know what three is for." He replied.

The elevator kept cranking them up slowly.

"Gods, can this thing go any slower!?" He said sarcastically in a small state of panic.

He heard people who were rebuilding the wall start talking, and yelling things back and forth. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it was nothing good. He knew that much. For all he knew, there could be a tens of thousands, just thousands, if they were lucky only a couple hundred. Finally, the elevator had reached the top. He stepped off of it, and the brotherhood followed him. He moved through the ice trenches and went to the commanding platform.

There was thousands of them all slowly marching to the Wall in an ominous fashion. It was still too small though, it couldn't have been the entire army. He saw even more at Hardhome. This was a test of their strength.

"Seven Hells." The Hound said in surprise.

"We've only a couple dozen barrels of pitch to light them on fire. The rest is spears and arrows tipped with cloth to set on fire." He told them.

"Then I hope the Wildlings have good aim." The Hound said.

"I need everyone up here immediately! Get every one of the free folk we have, even the old people! We'll need everyone to shoot arrows at these bastards if we're to fight back!" He shouted commanding them.

A few Night's Watchmen mixed with the free folk ran to the elevator. Edd ended up passing by them when the elevator stopped at the top.

Edd walked up to him and asked "Is there hope against all that at once?"

"There is if we all fight them together!" He told Edd, trying to give him confidence.

He had hoped they would have enough time to finish rebuilding the Wall, but there wasn't.

"How many archers are there here?" He asked Edd.

"Around fifty... maybe." Edd answered back.

 _Gods, only fifty... they'll be halfway up the Wall by the time the free folk get here._ He thought to himself.

"Archers! Tip your arrows in flames, you might as well be punching them to death if you don't!" He ordered the archers.

The archers he did see put their arrows into some fire basins.

"Knock... draw... loose!" He ordered them.

The arrows went flying down to the Wights and set some on fire, while others missed everyone. As he was looking down through the crowd, he didn't notice any White Walkers. Only the Wights. The Wights reached the wall and started climbing up with ice picks planted into it. It seemed they had come prepared.

"Drop a barrel of pitch before they start climbing!" He ordered them.

One of the free folk rolled off a barrel of pitch and it flew to the bottom catching dozens on fire. It was quite effective, but would only work for so long. They would eventually run out. Another wave of them started marching to the Wall, but a bunch of free folk finally got to them.

Ygritte saw army of Wights and said "I hope you know what you're doing Jon..."

"Didn't I know nothing not too long ago?" He said a little sarcastic.

"If we all die, at least you'll be able to tell a joke or two while all our eyes turn blue." Edd mentioned.

"Archers, knock your arrows! Tie yourselves to a post and hang off the Wall. You'll need as good an aim you can get!" He commanded.

As he watched the archers prepare themselves, he looked down at the army of the dead seeing a giant turned into a Wight.

 _Seven Hells..._ He thought.

The giant had a large hatchet-like weapon. He immediately feared for the wooden part of the Wall. He started running along the trench to the broken off part of the Wall. He stopped at the edge, and looked off. Another giant followed right behind the other one with a large bow and arrow. It reminded him a little of when the Wildlings attacked, but these giants were even more deadly being immune to pain.

The other giant started to draw its bow and arrow, and he shouted to the free folk "Take cover!"

It seemed they weren't able to hear him from sixty feet higher, and the arrow broke through the top part of the wooden Wall, sending a few free folk falling to their death.

"Archers! West side, focus your arrows on the giants!" He shouted commanding everyone he had.

The archers started shooting at the giants with their flame tipped arrows, but it wasn't a very big enough flame to catch them on fire.

"We need something bigger, this isn't enough to stop them!" He said to anyone who was listening.

"What about the barrels of pitch?" Edd suggested.

"Even with the waxing on the wood, there's still a chance it could catch fire and melt the wax off being dropped that close to it." He told him.

"Then why not get some buckets of water and throw it off the damned Wall?" The Hound added.

"That's not good enough, the water would just freeze as soon as we dropped it while it fell." He said.

The first giant sunk their hatchet into the Wall, ripping chunks of wood off. As he watched it, he heard a strange sound from behind the Wall. He turned his head and saw a dragon fly right over the Wall. The sight of how close it got to him made him fall on to his back, and everyone around him duck. Looking off the Wall, he saw no sign where it could've even come from.

"What in seven hells is that!?" Ygritte shouted.

"That's a bloody dragon!" Edd shouted in reply.

The dragon flew down the wall in a nose dive, and then pulled up, clutching a giant with its feet. it flew the giant high into the air and then let go of it. He heard Thoros say something in prayer, and he could tell there was good reason for it. It was just like a prayer had been answered. How it got there bothered him though as well.

He regained his composure and said "Archers! Focus back on the Wights, shoot at any of them that you can and leave the dragon be! We don't want to provoke it!" He could hardly believe he even gave the order using the word 'dragon.'

He looked back down the trench line and saw Meera run up to him.

"It's not safe for you up here, you should go back and keep Bran safe in case we can't defend the wall!" He told her.

"That IS Bran! I came up here so you wouldn't try to kill the dragon!" She answered back referring to the dragon.

"What...?" He said quietly.

At first he thought she was crazy, but he started to put the pieces together in his head. Bran was a warg, he could enter the minds of animals. And how suddenly, almost intentionally the dragon showing up out of nowhere was. It was all too sudden to be coincidental. The giant with the bow and arrow tried shooting at the dragon, but it managed to dodge it, and breathe fire on to the giant. The aim of the flames just barely missed the wooden part of the Wall and caught the giant on fire burning it to ashes. The dragon then continued to burn Wights on the ground.

Edd took over, commanding the archers for him. Combined with the dragon fire, and raining arrows. It killed hundreds at a time, and the Wights even started retreating. Everyone started cheering watching the Wights retreat, and the dragon flew back over the Wall to the way it came.

He was still trying to wrap his head around the dragon. It was a miracle, but how Bran managed to do it... even as a warg was strange. He needed to talk with Bran and see how he did it. He began walking to the elevator. But when he looked off the Wall again, he could see an entire army in the distance carrying Targaryen flags.

* * *

 _ **Note 2: Sorry it took so long, had a little break from writing for a while. Perhaps one thing I could've done differently in this chapter was add more detail to Dany's battle against the Lannisters, but I felt there was no need to drag out a long battle scene when we already knew who was going to win from the beginning. (As if I'd let Dany's 100,000 Dothraki lose to 4,000 Lannisters.) So Samwell is alive. If anyone believed me when I said he was dead... you're a little gullible. I never believed Jon Snow was dead in season 5 when he said he was dead, haha.**_

 _ **Anyway, any feedback would be appreciated. But just taking the time out of your day to read my story is what really makes me appreciate you. Regardless if you like it or not, thank you for just deciding to look at it.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed Chapter 15 as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_


	16. Chapter 16: Revelations

Daenerys

* * *

As Rhaegal flew back, it made her wonder even more why he left in the first place. Drogon had went off on his own for some freedom, but Rhaegal went directly over the Wall. Instead of taking time to enjoy the view, she focused more on seeing how the people there would react to her arrival. It was quite a small castle, much smaller than Winterfell. They opened the gates for them without hesitation. With good reason she presumed. With an army her size, she could take the castle in minutes if she so chose.

She ordered her men in Dothraki to stay behind, and she entered only with Tyrion, Missandei, Grey Worm and a couple of Unsullied. There were a bunch of men and women in warm furs, and other clothing to keep warm. They had quite primitive weaponry, and it wasn't much to impress. One thing she did find interesting, was the elevator. It was being brought down on a crank. She had never seen anything like its kind, so it was something worth note. Once the lift reached the bottom, a few people stepped off of it. A man with a beard dressed in furs, a woman looking similar to the bearded man in clothing, another in all black with a cloak, and one wearing armor similar to the Stark army at Winterfell. She assumed it was Jon Snow.

She sat on top of her horse and looked down at them. They weren't saying anything, and were probably in shock of her sudden appearance, and large army. Tyrion sat a little further back on his horse, but Missandei was right next to her.

"This is Daenerys Targaryen, The Unburnt Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and of the First Men, Khaleesi of the great grass sea, Breaker of Chains, Mhysa, Mother of Dragons, and Rightful Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms." Missandei announced for her.

"Where is Jon Snow?" She asked.

The man in the Stark armor came forward saying "I'm here, your grace."

He seemed like a fair man by his tone.

"It's been a long time, Snow." Tyrion said as he approached closer with his horse.

Jon looked toward him, obviously recognizing him.

"Tyrion? Tyrion Lannister?" Jon said.

"What other dwarfs do you know?" Tyrion answered back.

Jon looked a little conflicted staring toward him, it seemed only natural given the war that happened between their houses.

"It seems the wall is not as it used to be. What happened?" Tyrion asked.

"After Jon's brother stepped through the tunnel to enter Castle Black, the ground started shaking... and then it crumbled like a cake." A man of the Night's Watch said.

"The ground shook?" She asked questioningly.

"Forgive me, your grace, but there is much I must tell you. Only mere moments ago we were having a battle upon the other side of the wall. If it weren't for your dragon, the Wall would've been breached for sure." Jon Snow said.

"Who was it you were fighting? Tyrion tells me there are Widlings the Night's Watch defends against, however judging by these men and women's clothing it does not seem the case." She said.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. If you would, your grace, come to the top of the Wall and see for yourself." Jon offered.

She looked to Grey Worm, who seemed confident enough to protect her should any ill intentions be planned.

"Very well." She told him.

She got off her horse and follow him, along with his small group of Wildlings. She stepped on to the elevator with them, and someone started raising the crank to reach the top. Once they arrived, all the Night's Watchmen and Wildlings looked off the Wall. She stepped forward and looked off, seeing burning corpses and some of the bodies still crawling away.

"What happened here?" She asked.

"Your dragon came to us and burned the Wights to ashes, but the White Walkers may prove more difficult in coming time..." Jon said.

"The Night's Watch wasn't joking about the Grumpkins and Snarks, were they?" Tyrion questioned slightly sarcastic.

"What are these... White Walkers?" She asked him.

"Have you ever heard of the prophecy of The Long Night?" Jon asked.

Thinking back on it, she only heard Red Priests and priestesses speak of it.

"Vaguely..." She answered.

"It said the White Walkers came and attacked the living, trying to kill them all. The Lady Melisandre, told us all about it. Regardless of how much truth it carries, the White Walkers aren't dead... and they have an army capable of killing every one of us." He clarified.

She was no stranger to magic, or strange creatures given her dragons, but this seemed dangerous to an extreme degree.

"I didn't come alone. There are tens of thousands willing to support my claim, whatever army they have would likely-"

"Forgive me, your grace..." Jon interrupted. "...The Wights are not to be underestimated. What they threw at us tonight was not their entire army, only a portion. They are coming for us, and they intend to kill us all. They raise the dead up from the ground, I saw it myself at a free folk camp called 'Hardhome.' I watched as the Night King brought back thousands of them all by himself, all with bright blue glowing eyes." Jon claimed.

She listened carefully to what he had said. Before coming to Westeros, this threat had never even been known to her.

"Then how do we stop it?" She asked.

"I don't know... I don't know if it's even possible..." He said with very little confidence.

"There has to be some way. You spoke of my dragon killing these men brought back from the dead, how did Rhaegal do it?" She asked.

"He picked the giants up, and then dropped them from high above the Wall. When they hit the ground, there was nothing left of it. The others, he burned them. As far as we know, that's the only thing that kills the Wights... as for the White Walkers that command them, dragon glass... and Valyrian Steel. Unfortunately both of those are in short supply." Jon told her.

She continued looking off the Wall at the burning corpses. Soon after, a man of the Night's Watch walked up to Jon and told him "There is a visitor at the gate - he says you've been expecting him, Howland Reed."

"Lord Reed? Now?" Jon said.

The man of the Night's Watch nodded his head. She had never heard of anyone by that name. She also expected there to be a lot of people she had never heard of.

"Who is Lord Reed?" She asked.

"We'll have to talk about it sooner or later... but I'd rather meet with Lord Reed in person before we begin talking about him." Jon suggested.

"Very well then, we'll go together." She told him.

He didn't look too keen to the idea, but before he could say anything she told him "I'm not asking. We will meet with this man together. My hand Tyrion, tells me I will need all the Northern Houses to accept my rule if I am to be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms - and I am inclined to agree with him."

Jon let out a sign of defeat and said "Alright... we'll meet him together."

"Tyrion, tell our army to set up camp for a few nights. I expect we may be here longer than I had first thought." She ordered him.

"Of course, your grace." He assured her.

She continued to follow him to the elevator, and they rode it back down together. Once they arrived at the bottom, the gate was already open. She found it understandable however, given her army outside it could be taken as an act of aggression to shut it with her inside. It then occurred to her why he felt brave enough to enter even with her army all lined up outside. Regardless, they both walked up to the man who was dismounting his horse from a stable.

Jon walked up to him and said "Lord Reed?"

"Jon Snow?" He replied.

The man had a short, but thick beard. His voice was also a bit raspy.

"Who's the woman? Did the Night's Watch start allowing everyone into Castle Black?" The man asked.

"If we could go inside... speak somewhere a little more private." Jon suggested to him.

"Aye... perhaps we should." He agreed.

She wondered in her head what they were about to talk about, but she knew she was about to find out. She wouldn't have it any other way.

They walked up the catwalk and were about to enter the Lord Commander's chambers, but Jon stopped and started looking at Grey Worm.

"Is there a problem?" She asked.

"I need what happens in this room to stay in this room. No one can hear of this conversation but the three of us." Jon said.

She looked to Grey Worm, who seemed a bit opposed to the decision just by looking at his facial expression.

"If they wanted to harm me, they would've done so already. Besides - if they were stupid enough to try it, the castle would be overrun in seconds with our army." She assured him.

Hesitantly, he stepped away from her and the door.

Lord Reed opened the door for her and Jon and they all walked in together. He shut the door behind them, and Jon grabbed an extra chair for them all to sit in.

"If you would all have a seat please." Jon offered.

She sat down at the left end of the table, in the chair Jon brought over. And Lord Reed sat straight across from him. It was arranged in a triangular shape of sorts.

Jon finally sat down and stated "Now... Lord Reed, I'd like to thank you for arriving so quickly."

"You don't have to call me Lord in every sentence, you know. My name is Howland." He said.

"A pleasure to meet you, Howland Reed. If I may ask, how many fighting men does your House have?" She said adding herself into the conversation.

"We have enough. About one hundred men - however most of them are too young or too old to be fighting." Howland answered.

She thought on it. One hundred men didn't seem like very much, and it only made her question why Tyrion was so hellbent on assuring their loyalty.

"I'm surprised you got a letter to our castle. Often no ravens are able to ever find it." Howland mentioned.

"Apologies for changing the subject, but it's important." Jon said.

Howland quieted down and let him speak.

"What exactly happened at the Tower of Joy? Where Lyanna died." Jon asked.

Howland let out a deep sigh and asked "Are you sure you want to know? And are you sure you want lady...?"

"Daenerys Targaryen." She told him.

He seemed to shift in his seat when she told him her name.

"I suppose you were already on the right track then." Howland said.

Jon listened to him, and Howland said "Me and your father... together we were fighting Ser Arthur Dayne. He killed everyone of our men except myself and your father."

"Go on." Jon told him.

"Your father was no match for Ser Arthur. He disarmed him from his sword, and was about to kill him... he would've gotten away with it had I not forced myself back to my feet - even with the injuries I sustained. I took out my dagger, and plunged it into the back of his throat while he wasn't looking." Howland informed him.

Jon seemed a little surprised, and at the same time a little sad.

"From what I heard - Ned Stark was a very honorable man. The Northerners must call you a hero." She to him.

"I'm no hero... I stabbed him in the back. It wasn't honorable. Ned and I should've died outside that tower, but I did it so Ned could get his sister. She didn't deserve to die alone. There aren't any songs sung about me, only Ned and I know the truth." Howland said.

"And Lyanna... what happened in there?" Jon asked slightly afraid of the answer.

"I waited outside for him. Checking on our other fallen friends to see if anyone else had lived. Unfortunately not... by the time Ned came out, he holding a baby in his hands. Telling me his sister died, and they only got the child out by cutting him out." Howland said.

"But his father was Ned Stark?" She asked Howland.

"No... Rhaegar Targaryen. Your brother." He answered.

"Rhaegar had a second son? Where is he now?" She asked.

"He's right next to you." He replied.

She looked over to Jon and he shut his eyes realizing the answer.

"If that's some kind of joke, it was a very poorly executed one." She told him.

"I'm not joking. Ned told me we had to keep his identity a secret - even from him. If there was a chance that anyone found out, word could've been sent back to Robert Baratheon. And if he found out-"

"He would've tried to poison him." She finished his sentence.

"You're right. I assume he tried to do the same to you?" Howland asked.

"A wine merchant in Essos tried to sell me poisoned wine on behalf of Robert Baratheon." She told him.

"All those years... Catelyn wished me dead... all the times she wept thinking her husband broke his marriage vows... I took the black because she didn't want her husband's bastard in Winterfell..." Jon said.

"It can't have been easy on Ned. I'm sure he wanted to tell you eventually. Catelyn too." Howland said.

"The last time we spoke... he said we would talk about my mother the next time we saw each other." Jon said quietly.

"I'm sorry. I know it can't be easy hearing all this now... I miss Ned too." Howland said.

"Am I still a bastard? I wondered if..." Jon trailed his sentence off.

"I don't know... does it even matter? You're here now. The entire North has proclaimed you King of the North. I'd say bastard or not, you'd legitimize yourself by now." Lord Reed told him.

"And what would I legitimize as? A Targaryen... or a Stark." Jon asked.

"No matter what, the North will still follow you. They named you King of the North when you were only half a Stark as a bastard, they'll still follow you as half a Stark being a Targaryen." He assured him.

"May we speak alone? I believe this involves much more we must discuss now." She asked Lord Reed.

"I understand. This is quite a revelation... take as much time as you need." He replied.

Howland stood up from his seat and walked out of the room. Once the door was shut, she turned her head to Jon. He looked a bit somber. She did understand it given all this new information he was told.

"I suppose that makes us the last living Targaryens then." She said.

"I don't want the Seven Kingdoms... take it yourself. I won't challenge your claim." Jon stated.

His immediate response surprised her.

"You seem to be an honorable man. As honorable as Ned Stark the way Lord Reed described him." She complimented.

He went quiet for a moment, and then asked "What do you want from me, your grace?"

"From what I saw over the Wall, there is a far bigger threat than who rules the Seven Kingdoms. I'm willing to help you with whatever threat it is you face if it's truly as dangerous as you say. After it is dealt with, we will take the Seven Kingdoms together." She told him.

"I told you, I don't want the seven kingdoms." Jon said.

"Regardless, we are related. If I take the Seven Kingdoms alone, some may still challenge my claim being a woman. Westeros has never had a Queen to rule permanently, and the people of Westeros may take it far better as we change the process over time. And since we're related, it is more than fair that I'm offering you the position to be King. Granted you not do anything... immoral. I will allow you to take it." She said persistent.

"How do you know I'd even be a good ruler?" He said skeptically of the idea.

"I don't know... but Tyrion once told me 'the man who doesn't want the job is usually the one who is best at it.' He spoke very highly of you. 'Just like his father' he said. If you ask anyone in Meereen, they would tell you I wasn't the best ruler at the start. It takes... adjusting, I suppose. But who do you trust more, Yourself... or another lord deemed fit by the common people?" She asked.

"The common people?" He asked curious.

"We can't have this system the way it is. When all next of kin die, it seems fit we let the common people choose who should rule over them. Perhaps they would choose one of your children, or one of mine should we have any of our own in the future. An elected Stark, or Targaryen, or Lannister to rule over Westeros assuming we survive this danger beyond the Wall." She suggested.

"So you came all this way for the Iron Throne, just so your family may lose it again in the future?" Jon said.

"This isn't about who sits on the throne. This is about who _should_ sit on the Iron Throne. Neither of us will live forever, and there's no assurance the first born son will always be a good ruler. Perhaps a second born son. Or a first born daughter would be better qualified to make the world a better place during their reign. Tyrion told me Joffrey Baratheon was first born heir to the throne, and he enjoyed slaughtering babies and tormenting defenseless people. I don't want that to _ever_ happen again."

Jon fell quiet for a moment, seeming to come to understanding in her reasoning.

"My brother Viserys wanted the throne for himself. He was a cruel man. He felt like he deserved it, and spread lies about others, and sold me off to a bunch of Dothraki for an army to sail to Westeros. You don't seem like that kind of person. Not aggressive... not cruel. You were humble when we first arrived at the gate. I offered you a position of power, and you refused as if you weren't worthy. And when Tyrion showed up with me, you didn't lash out in anger over his family name - and rightfully so considering he did not directly want to harm your family. You're a rare man, Jon Targaryen. A much gentler man who wants what's best for everyone." She said finishing up her speech.

She look at him as he was still processing everything she said.

"So... do you accept my offer?"

He paused for a moment, before answering "I never asked for any of this. I never asked to be a Targaryen, or a king, or a ruler of even a small house. But if you believe I should... then I will accept your offer when you take the Iron Throne."

"When _we_ take the Iron Throne. Neither of us will be doing alone. Every single man and woman from both our armies will have to participate, and it would not be possible without them." She added.

"When _we_ take the Iron Throne." He said changing his response.

* * *

Cersei

* * *

"It's not possible..." She said surprised.

"An army of Unsullied from Essos, and Dothraki hordes. Many of them carried Targaryen banners." Maester Qyburn said.

"How many Lannister soldiers do we have left?" She asked.

"Just over six thousand, your grace." Qyburn answered.

"We need more if we are to beat that Targaryen whore back from which she came. I thought Robert had her poisoned years ago, and now she's come back to haunt us." She said.

"Unfortunately, there are no more Houses in Westeros willing to support our cause without hard convincing. We will never be able to get the Tyrells back, we lost their support when we burned the only living heirs at the Sept of Baelor. Olenna Tyrell however, has already sided with the Targaryen woman - and even gave her a few ships." Qyburn said.

"Then what do you suggest we do? The Freys are off with my brother, and nearly half our army is sided with him for claim on the throne." She said angrily.

"Well... there is one House willing to support us. He just arrived here today in fact. He is ready to see you now, I told him I would ask you first." Qyburn said.

"Send him in then." She told him.

"Of course, your grace." Qyburn said just as he left.

She sat back down on to the Iron Throne waiting for the man to enter the throne room. eventually, one did. A man with a dark hair and a short beard entered. She didn't recognize him, and had no clue how he could be useful at all. She slowly began to question if it was a waste of her time.

"Greetings, your grace." The man announced.

"Who are you?" She questioned impatiently.

"Euron Greyjoy, Ruler of the Iron Islands." He answered.

"Tell me, 'Euron Grejoy.' Why did you decide to seek me out? Maester Qyburn says you wish to offer us your support." She said wasting no time.

"I assume you know of the Dragon Queen? Daenerys Targaryen? I imagine she must be a bit of a problem for your house." Euron said a little too confidently for her liking.

"Indeed - however to call her a 'problem' would be a drastic understatement. Have you got a solution? Or have you just come to tell me things I already know." She said coldly.

"I have. Of course, you'll need to give me something in return." He told her.

"And what is it you ask for?" She questioned.

"The North." He said far too confident.

"Impossible." She told him immediately after.

"I have a fleet of one thousand ships. I have the men to take it for myself, all I need from you is to acknowledge my rule over it. I'll kill the dragon Queen, and I will take the North." Euron added.

"One thousand ships...? How did you manage this?" She asked.

"Do I need to show you the damned fleet myself? I got it done. How? That's a Greyjoy secret." He said proudly.

"Alright... I see... however, you must answer to me at all times. You can command your own soldiers, but you can only command mine if I say you may - is that clear?" She said insistently.

"Fine by me." Euron agreed.

* * *

 _ **Author's note: Sorry it took so long, but at least I got it out in three weeks. As of when I'm updating this, tomorrow will actually mark the day it's been three weeks since I last added a chapter. But, it's all good now. Sorry there was no Sansa, I was running out of time and I can still give her a chapter next time. We didn't cover very much other than Daenerys and Cersei, so there won't be some huge time skip missing everything. So next chapter will definitely contain the other people I've skipped out on.**_

 _ **I'm gonna try and work on the chapters more frequently from now on, except I have come down with a cold. So hopefully no more 3 week wait time. Probably more like 1 or 2. But it could still end up being longer. So if it is, don't think I've given up. At the very least every 3 weeks I'll update it.**_

 _ **Anyway, hope you enjoyed Chapter 16. I will begin writing chapter 17 immediately.**_


	17. Chapter 17: Crypts

Sansa

* * *

For the time, she would play along. She had grown quite good at it from her time spent in the Red Keep. It was only a few short minutes now before they got to Casterly Rock. Things were much warmer this far south, and she started slipping out of her cloak. It was too thick, and warm for this kind of weather. Petyr was sitting in the seat closer to the front of the carriage, and in front of her. It was irritating whenever he looked at her. She couldn't tell if it was love, or lust, or manipulation. It could've been all three for all she'd known.

"Are you nervous, my dear? You seem to be ditching the cloak." Petyr asked.

"No, I'm fine. Just fine." She told him.

"What is your end game for Jaime Lannister once he has given us what we want?" He asked.

"He pushed Bran out of a tower. What do you think?" She said coldly.

"Did he? Catelyn suspected him. But then, she also suspected the imp of sending an assassin after her with his own Valyrian dagger." Petyr said suggestively

"You doubt her? Weren't you the one who was so in love with her?" She said defensively.

"I don't deny that. But I do know her only piece of evidence was a strand of blonde hair. And Jaime Lannister is useful at Casterly Rock - The Lannisters have more gold there than anywhere else in Westeros, and King's Landing is highly in debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos. Keeping him alive, he would swear allegiance to the crown. Casterly rock would obtain the gold earned at Lannisport through legal means - and give us a sixty percent share. In a few months the debt could be paid off. And with it, no one shall ever attempt to go against our rule." Petyr said, revealing his plan.

"Isn't there some other way? Lannisters killed my brother, Robb - and my mother. Even that much you can't deny." She said a little tempered with him.

"Tywin Lannister arranged the Red Wedding - not Jaime. Besides, even if he did, it is best to make your enemies think they're your friends. While we're on the topic of enemies acting like friends - it is important not to forget they are your true enemies. Walder Frey acted like a friend to Robb Stark, and it cost him his life because he thought he was safe. You shouldn't trust anyone - even family. Sooner or later-"

The carriage halted and the driver announced "We're here, m'lord."

He paused his line of thought and said "Well, it appears we're already here."

She took a deep breath. She felt so much more confident earlier - but now that she had gotten there, it was so much more worrying. Petyr opened the door and stepped out of it. She followed after him, and saw the castle standing as tall as Winterfell. Perhaps even taller. Petyr took her by her hand and lead them to the throne room's entrance. It was a straight path to the door once they were inside the courtyard, so it took very little walking. Once they got to the doors, there were four Lannister guards standing at each sides of the doors.

They let them pass - probably since they knew they were coming. Once they were inside - Jaime could be seen saying something to a woman before turning to them after hearing them enter. He walked toward them instead of sitting on the throne to talk to them.

"Ser Jaime." Petyr said.

"Lord Baelish." Jaime said back.

"It's been quite some time hasn't it?" Petyr said.

"Yes... I have to say - I didn't quite believe you when you said you brought Sansa with you. The last time I saw Brienne, she said you were at Winterfell." Jaime said in a suspicious tone.

"I had to come here to meet with you once I heard about what Cersei had done... and that you were against her." She told him.

"Right... if I'm to believe the letter I received, you want us to join forces." Jaime said.

"Indeed. Cersei has built quite an army, but she is losing more and more soldiers by each passing day. If we merge our forces we can beat her." Petyr told him.

"And how do I know this isn't some trap you've decided to set up to get close to me and try to kill me for a heavy bag of gold from Cersei?" Jaime said suspiciously again.

"Then you were a fool to let us into your home in the first place." Petyr said cleverly.

Jaime went silent until Petyr spoke up telling him "Cersei has made an alliance with Euron Greyjoy. He's given her a thousand ships in return for some of her soldiers, and a declaration to rule the north if he can take it from the dragon queen."

 _"Dragon queen? What is he talking about?"_ She thought to herself. Jaime seemed just as confused as she was.

"Apologies. I thought you already knew. Daenerys Targaryen sailed across the narrow sea and arrived at Winterfell. Cersei sent four thousand of her Lannister soldiers to take Winterfell from Jon Snow - however when the Targaryen showed up, her army defended Winterfell from the attackers and slaughtered them." Petyr explained.

She almost opened her mouth to say something, but Petyr pinched her on her arm - reminding her Jaime was still there. She didn't want to look shocked in front of Jaime, so she played his game for now.

"You mean that woman Robert wanted killed? How did-"

"It's quite a long story. But that's not what's important." Petyr interjected. "My spies say Cersei now has a thousand ships and an army to boot. If we want to take the throne from her, we'll need more fighting men. And there's only one army in Westeros right now which could assist us in that quest..."

"You want me to talk to the Targaryen woman? In case you have forgotten - my family helped drive out the Targaryens from Westeros in the first place." Jaime said.

"I haven't forgotten. Your brother, Tyrion has already met with Daenerys and become hand to the queen. She was willing to accept him, so she will accept you as well." Petyr said.

Jaime clenched a fist with the hand he still had. He seemed a bit upset at the mention of his brother's name.

"Tyrion killed my father when he escaped King's Landing." Jaime told them.

"And you killed the Targaryen woman's. Stabbed the mad king right through his back. So? What do you say?" Petyr asked.

"And what am I supposed to get out of all this? Other than taking Cersei back." He questioned.

"We'll allow you to remain the rest of your days here. At Casterly Rock. You'll share an agreed amount of gold to support the crown, and we will let you rule there once we take the throne from her. You'll be a wealthy man - free to rule his own castle." Petyr answered.

Jaime paused for a moment, and looked to consider it.

"Alright... but I know your reputation Lord Baelish. I'm only going along with this since Sansa is one much for betrayal. I trust her more than I trust you - and frankly... I feel sorry for what Joffrey did to you. And for Walder Frey, whoever killed him... he had it coming. I can't say we were great friends." Jaime said with some sympathy in his tone.

She was a bit surprised by his attitude - and even more so learning that Walder Frey was dead. However, he did seem much more sympathetic toward her than she originally figured he would be. It sort of reminded her of Tyrion. She immediately realized she would be seeing him again to if Petyr wasn't lying about taking them to the Targaryen woman.

"Pardon, Ser Jaime - did you say Walder Frey is dead?" She asked a little surprised.

"I did... I thought you might've been the one who could've arranged his death - but clearly not. The killer wrote in blood on the wall 'The North remembers.' Had to have been someone who supported the Starks." Jaime said curious.

"Thank you for this meeting, Ser Jaime. I will give you a day to arrange a few soldiers from your army to accompany us on our journey back up north." Petyr said.

"I'll let you know when we're ready." Jaime told him.

Before she could ask anything else, Petyr started leading her out the doors. From all this she only just now learned, she had a lot to talk about with Littlefinger.

* * *

Arya

* * *

Cersei... Ilyn Payne.. Beric Dondarrion... The Red Woman... The Mountain. The only targets she had left. The last ones that had wronged her and her family. She started to wonder if it was even worth it anymore. She could see King's Landing from where she was, but it was as if something was preventing her from entering. As if someone had put an invisible wall there to stop her. For whatever reason, she just couldn't.

She then started thinking about Jon. Back to the last day they saw each other. He'd still be at the wall now. She turned back to the fire she set up and kicked some dirt into it - snuffing it out. If she went to Jon, she might never get to come back... to never take revenge of the people she'd wanted dead for the longest time. Jon wouldn't let her leave the Wall once she got there. And it's not like he could leave to come with her either.

In the middle of this long train of thought, she heard a voice tell her "Arya Stark."

She spun around quickly and drew Needle from her waist. There was an old woman standing there, and somehow she knew her name. Her heart was racing quickly.

 _"Is it one of the faceless men?"_ She thought to herself.

As she pointed needle toward the old woman, she asked her "Who are you- how do you know my name?"

"Don't worry... I have not come to hurt you." The old woman said.

"That remains to be seen. How do you know who I am?" She asked her, still clutching Needle toward her.

"The Lord of Light has brought me to you for a reason." The old woman said, still ignoring her question.

"You're one of those "red priestesses" aren't you?" She accused her.

"I am... and I've come to bring you home." The old woman said far too suspiciously.

"Where's the other woman? The one who took Gendry from me." She asked her.

The old woman paused, seemingly trying to recall her. "I'm afraid I don't know whom you mean. There are many who worship the Lord of Light, and not all of us are able to speak to each other."

She felt as if she was lying, but she had no way to prove it. And it was highly likely she was one of the faceless men.

"Why did you say to wanted to 'bring me home?'" She asked her still heavily cautious. She heavily relied on her ears in case anyone tried to sneak up on her so she could hear them.

"The Prince that was Promised has returned... and he will need you for when the true war comes." The woman said.

"Who are you talking about?" She asked her.

"Your brother... Jon Snow. He is the prince that was promised." The woman answered.

 _"Jon? Why him? Am I hallucinating?_ _"_ She thought to herself.

Before she could speak, the woman told her "He was killed by his brothers of the Night's Watch... then rose back from the dead. He built an army of Wildlings, and took back Winterfell from the Bolton soldiers who were controlling it."

"Liar." She spat at the woman.

"Should you choose not to believe me, go into King's Landing and kill those you despise instead. But ask anyone you find there - and they will tell you what I told you." The woman said.

"How do you know I want anyone dead?" She asked her.

"The Lannister family had your father killed did they not? Why else would you go there if not for revenge?" The woman told her.

She definitely didn't want to go with her, but she still wanted to see Jon again. And the possibility that she was telling the truth made her want to go even more.

"You want me to go home? Fine... I'll consider what you've said. But not with you. And If I find out you lied to me, I'll kill you the next time I see you." She told the woman.

"As you can see - I'm unarmed. It would be safer for us to travel tog-" "Not a chance." She interrupted.

"I'm going to let you go. Back away, and keep walking until I can no longer see you. Otherwise I'll stab you right now." She told the old lady.

The woman didn't seem hesitant, then turned and started walking away without another word. It was too easy. There was no way she would leave her alone just like that. After awhile, she could no longer see her. She sheathed Needle and looked toward the first road heading north - then back to King's Landing.

* * *

Bran

* * *

During the vision he was in, he saw the Winterfell crypts. It felt like he was watching the old dreams he used to have of the three eyed raven. As he saw the crypts - he saw a three eyed raven fly down and perch on top of the gate to the crypts. It was impossible - the Three Eyed Raven was dead. The raven looked to him, and then flew down into the crypts. He looked around for his younger self as if this was a past dream, but he couldn't find him anywhere. He turned back to the crypts and started walking down into them.

The crypts were already lit with torches, and the raven flew to the end of the crypts. He started descending down into them. He saw old and new statues of the lords of Winterfell. As he walked, he even saw there was statues for his siblings. They had not even been filled yet. He looked back to the raven and continued down the crypts, but it flew off descending further down. But it went quickly, and he started running to keep up with it. He found stairs that lead further down, but the torches were less frequently lit.

As he got at deep as he could go - the three eyed raven was there, and Jon was at the very end. The torches started snuffing themselves out and He ran as quick as he could to catch Jon, but everything faded to black.

He could no longer see anything around him. He started feeling his way around, until things started lighting up again and in bright daylight - he was on top of the wall. As he was there, he saw Wights and White Walkers climbing up the wall. He looked around him - but there was no one around fighting them back. As he looked off the other side of the Wall, there was an old ruined castle. He had no clue which one it was. He ran back over to the other side and saw the Night King leading his army upon the Wall.

This wasn't a dream - this was a vision. It all started to make since now. The Night King only sent a few thousand Wights to scout, and retreated because he found a better path to climb over. One part of the Wall that no one could guard. He shook himself trying to wake up, but it was impossible. He saw the Wights climbing higher and higher getting closer to him, and he kept trying to wake up. Sooner than he'd have liked - they got up to him, and just as they tried to attack him - he woke up with sweat dripping down his head.

He quickly looked around the room he was in, and no one was around.

"Meera!? ... Jon!?" He called out. No one seemed to hear him.

He almost called out for Hodor, but started to remember what happened. He heard people outside talking, but he couldn't get their attention. He needed to warn Jon about what he saw. He threw the covers off of his legs and crawled off the bed he was in. He fell to the floor with a thud, but didn't care for whatever pain it could've caused him. Warning Jon was more important.

He crawled to the door steadily, but he couldn't reach the handle. He looked back to his bed and saw the chair that Meera would sit in. He made his way back over to it, and dragged it back to the door with one hand in an agonizingly slow pace. Once he got the chair to the door - he climbed up on to it with his arms. Just as he was about to get on it, he slipped and fell back off.

"Seven hells!" He yelled in frustration.

He worked his way back on to the chair and got himself high enough to reach the knob. He turned it and the door slowly creaked open. He got out of the chair, and crawled to the outside. He didn't realize how late it was until he was outside. It was freezing - and the voices he heard were no longer there. The vision he had was in the day time - so either they already crossed the wall, or they will soon.

He saw there was light coming from the bedrooms - someone had to be in there. He started crawling over to them as fast as he could. As he went along, there was some snow on the catwalk he had to crawl across. It just made him shiver even more. Once he made it to the door, he knocked on it as hard as he could. He heard someone stand up and approach the door. Once they opened it, he realized it was Edd.

At first Edd didn't see anyone, but he shouted "Edd!"

He immediately looked down at him and asked "Bran!? What the hell are you doing!?"

"Get Jon... I need to talk to him. Now." He told him.

Edd picked him up and said "C'mon, let's get you in here where it's warm. I'll go get Jon."

Edd brought him over to a chair and sat him down in it. He took off his cloak and gave it to him. Afterward, Edd left the room and went to go get Jon. Now that he had finally gotten someone - he started to wonder why Meera wasn't there. She always had been for the rest of the time.

Quite quickly - Edd came back along with more than just Jon. There was also Meera, Ygritte, Howland Reed and the woman he knew as Khaleesi. He was especially shocked however at Howland, however. He knew Khaleesi was coming - but not Howland. If he was here, it must've explained why Meera wasn't there. He was her father after all.

"Bran, what's wrong? Why did you crawl all this way?" Jon asked concerned.

"I... I had a vision. The White Walkers - they didn't just attack Castle Black. They're coming over every other castle manned on the Wall. They're attacking everywhere at once." He told Jon.

Meera got a worried face, and Howland said "The White Walkers? I thought-" "Why do'ya think we wanted to be behind the Wall in the first place?" Ygritte interrupted.

"Those other castles don't have enough people to defend the Wall... they're going to come over. We need to go - the Wall is lost. We can't defend it any more. We'll need to fall back, and defend our position somewhere else..." Jon said.

"No one's abandoned the Wall for thousands of years. Where can we defend if not here?" Edd asked.

"There's only one place we can defend that's small enough to pile enough men - and build defences with the short time we'll have. The Neck." Jon said.

"I'll have my army get ready to move immediately." Daenerys said.

"The North won't like this... we'll need to go to Winterfell and tell the lords of the North we have to go..." Jon added.

 _"Winterfell..."_ Bran thought.

"Jon." He said.

Jon looked to him and he told him "The Winterfell crypts... I need you to take me down there."

"The crypts? Why do you want to go there? What did you see?" His brother asked confused.

"Jon... have you had the dreams too? The old crypts down in Winterfell? I saw you there in one of my visions but..." He trailed his sentence off.

"I've had some dreams... but in mine, every one of the statues were screaming at me to leave. That I wasn't a true Stark, and I had no place there. Are you sure you want to go down there?" Jon asked.

"Something is leading me down there. And if you've been having the dreams too - then you should come with me." He told him.

Jon paused in silence and Daenerys said "I suppose we can continue this conversation when we're there. We will need to go quickly if we do not want to get surrounded."

Just after she said that, the door opened and Tyrion walked in asking "What's all this commotion about? I was trying to sleep."

"Tyrion..." He said a little joy in his tone.

"Bran Stark. I heard you were here. I wondered when I would get the chance to meet you again. How did the saddle fair you? I wish I could've seen you ride it in person." Tyrion said.

"I know we all have a lot of catching up to do - but we need to leave. You can talk on the road back to Winterfell." Jon told him.

"Winterfell? Why are-" "It's a long story. I'll tell you on our way." He told Tyrion.

Everyone went outside the room and started preparing.

* * *

 _ **So... sorry I've been making as much promises as No Man's Sky over here - and there's not really an excuse for it. I was just getting a little burnt out on writing this story. If anyone watches YouTube and has seen GradeAunderA - he talks about how he got bored of making videos, and no longer wanted to for a while. That's kinda how I felt - but now I'm getting back into it. So I'm going to push these chapters out at my own pace. Probably no longer than a month, or maybe a couple days over. Or sooner if I just feel like it.**_

 _ **Anyway, hope you enjoyed chapter 17 (17 already? Wow...)**_


	18. Chapter 18: The past long forgotten

Samwell

* * *

Inside the library while flipping through books, he was searching for information on the White Walkers. Reading one book - it spoke of them as _'Others'_ and stated that they were only a myth. It wasn't much help. He put that book down and picked up another titled 'Before the doom.' It spoke of Valyrian steel swords. He flipped through the pages to the oldest recordings of the swords.

 _"In the oldest of days - the dead would rise from their grave if not burned. And some would come back even worse than others. Those ones were called 'White Walkers.' Very few things were known to kill these powerful creatures - however some of these weaknesses are still known today. In the most ancient of texts, they would refer to Valyrian steel as Dragonsteel. However it was never confirmed that 'Dragonsteel' actually was Valyrian steel."_

It seemed he was finally getting somewhere. He turned to the next page and continued reading.

 _"The ancient texts would also speak of 'Dragonglass' to kill the White Walkers. It is unclear - but believed that obsidian carved swords were what kept the undead at bay. As can be read from the texts - the dragonsteel and dragonglass were treated as if two different weapons - however as time has gone on, no one knows how to make these weapons anymore. However do not fret, for the last of the White Walkers were killed long ago."_

"Heh, except now they're back..." He mumbled to himself.

He flipped the page hoping to find more information - but there was very little to find. And none of it discussed any more of the White Walkers or Valyrian Steel swords. He set the book down and started thinking.

 _"Dragonglass... dragonsteel... the texts are different - the book is right... but they both have dragon."_ He thought in his head.

And then an idea struck him. He stood up and picked up the books he had been reading. He brought them back to their proper places in the library, and then turned to leave. However he was met with the presence of a maester and let out a startled shriek.

"Goodness! Maester Astoff... you startled me."

"What was that you were reading? Valyrian steel swords?" Astoff asked unimpressed.

"Yes... um, maester? May I ask how many blacksmiths are still in Westeros that know how to work with Valyrian steel?" He asked lightly.

"No one knows how to make Valyrian steel swords anymore. However there are those who know how to work with swords already made... approximately five left in Westeros. Luckily for you, there happens to be a student here in Oldtown studying to learn how to work the swords himself." Astoff answered.

"That's great. May I speak to him?" He asked.

"Later. Archmaester Marwyn has returned and wishes to speak to you personally." Astoff informed him.

"Of course... um, where is he?"

"In his chambers. Now go." Astoff commanded.

He nodded his head and started making his way there. Once he got to the many sets of stairs, he immediately remembered how difficult it was the first time. After going up and down the stairs, he entered Marwyn's chambers. Inside, he saw Marwyn was not at his desk.

"Archmaester Marwyn!?" He called out.

He heard his voice reply back "I'm in here!"

He saw there was a door in his chambers he had never gone into, and the voice came from in there. He walked to the door and opened it. Inside, he saw Marwyn at some kind of alchemy station.

Marwyn turned to him and said "Good to see you, Samwell. I have returned from Meereen... but not alone."

Samwell then noticed a man who's skin looked badly disfigured. His skin looked cracked, and dry and scaly. It went from up his arm, spreading on to his neck, and down to his waist.

"This man says he's been afflicted with greyscale. He was desperately seeking for help before he would 'end it himself' he said." Marwyn explained.

"That's about right." The man said.

"W-what are you going to do? There's no cure for greyscale." He said to him.

"No official cure, yes. But in case you have not noticed yet, Samwell - I don't do things by the books." Marwyn said.

He looked at him curiously as to what he had planned. Marwyn laid the man down while being careful not to touch his afflicted parts. The Archmaester then took a torch that was hanging from the wall for light. He used it to light a couple of candles - still keeping the room lit.

"Archmaester, what are you planning to do?" Sam asked a little worried.

"Patience Samwell... it's best I not say it in front of him." Marwyn said seemingly weird.

"I actually would like to know myself." The man said.

"Simply take your shirt off, all the way." Marwyn told him.

The man seemed a little suspicious, but took it off as he was instructed.

"Samwell, please give him milk of the poppy." Marwyn instructed.

"Where would I find that?" He asked.

Marwyn pointed to a medical table he had set up with plenty of supplies. Bandages, water, maggots, leeches and strange glowing liquids in bottles. However the milk of the poppy was labeled, so he found it easily. He picked up the small cup it was in and was about to hand it to the man, but Marwyn stopped him.

"It is best if you help him drink it. I'd rather not risk contaminating anything else in this room." Marwyn told him.

He realized what he meant, and brought the cup up to the man's mouth. He slowly poured it in and the man swallowed it.

"What now?" Sam asked.

"Now we wait for it to take effect. Once he loses consciousness, we shall begin the procedure." Marwyn replied.

"Maester..." the man said.

Marwyn faced him and gave a questioning look, implying him to continue his sentence.

"Why are you doing this for me? There are plenty of sick and ill people who are in Meereen. Why help me?" The man asked.

"Because you'll owe me a favor. I need to meet with the dragon queen. And you'll be the best chance I have of meeting her." Marwyn answered.

The man tried to continue speaking, but he was falling fast asleep. And couldn't get out more than a few slurred words.

"Archmaester, if I may ask - what did you want in return?" He questioned cautiously.

"He's Jorah Mormont. Son of Jeor Mormont, and was a servant to Daenerys Targaryen before he ended up like this." The maester told him.

"How did you find all that out?" He asked ever so cautious again.

"A lot of the slaves in Meereen knew him by his name. He was one of her most loyal allies, and she didn't keep it a secret. He got things done for her, and she wanted people to know it." Marwyn answered.

"So how will you cure him?" He asked Marwyn.

"A man named Stannis Baratheon had a daughter - Shireen. She had been afflicted with greyscale for quite some time. He called upon nearly every maester in Westeros to help her. I was one of them. We tried every last treatment in the book, until one of them worked. The problem is - we don't know which remedy worked." Marwyn stated.

He then continued, adding "We tried cutting some of the flesh, but it would only grow back. It would seem less cracked, but it went deeper than just her skin - it was in her blood by that point. And when it was that close to her brain, having started on her cheek - it showed we had even less time before it took over her mind."

"So how did you stop it?" He asked the Archmaester.

Marwyn replied "Eventually, the others gave up trying. And I was just about to myself - but then an idea struck. I remember reading a book 'A History of Lesser Known Gods' I believe it was called. A couple of chapters talked about 'The Red God' or 'R'hllor' they called him. It was said that one priestess who believed she found her prophesied savior had caught greyscale himself. She took his arm and burned it into fire, and then began to pray. Surely enough - the disease was gone. It no longer spread on him, and he had nasty burned scars where the greyscale used to be."

"So, what? You burned half her face off?" Samwell asked in disbelief.

"No, I didn't have to. However, on the last night before we would give up - I sat in my room and prayed. I prayed for this 'red god' to spare the poor girl and stop the disease. I put all of my effort into it. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed until it felt like I was stuck on a loop. So the next morning we all went to check on her... and her greyscale hadn't spread. Not even an inch. The maesters wondered 'maybe we cut it out' or 'maybe the larva therapy did it' or whatever else. But never did I tell them what I did that night. And we accepted it." Marwyn finished.

Samwell marveled at the story he was told. It almost seemed too perfect to be true. But then he started wondering...

"You think prayer will save him? So why did we give him milk of the poppy?" He asked

"Well, prayer... and I'm going to burn it just to be safe." Marwyn said.

The reply surprised him a little, and he muttered "Seven hells..."

"Sam, the rest of this is going to be pretty ugly. I can handle things from here. I just wanted you to understand what I am doing... you may be the only person in the Citadel whose not against all my ideas. And I'm the only one who will ever teach you these methods. And I rather the information not die with me - gods forbid it ever come to that." Marwyn told him.

"Thank you for trusting me, Archmaester. And I hope you manage to save him." Samwell said.

Marwyn nodded with a light smile, and then returned to Preparing Jorah's body to be burned.

Sam left his room, and then immediately remembered the swords. He still wanted to figure out how to make the Valyrian steel. And the only way to start trying - was to find the other student.

* * *

Theon

* * *

The ships were rocking ever so slightly. Not much was happening while Daenerys was gone. She mostly needed the ships just to get here - and after hearing of what happened to Stannis' fleet when he tried to use ships to take King's Landing, she definitely wasn't going to use them for that. However even though things still seemed calm, he still felt guilt mixed with fear hanging over his head. The Dreadfort was uncomfortably close to where they had originally set anchor - no more than a hundred miles north east.

He tried his best to forget the experience, but no amount of time could heal what he'd lost in that castle. As he was losing himself in the thoughts, Yara came up to him and patted him on the back. He jumped a little startled from it, and turned to face her.

"What's the matter with you? You seem all jumpy." She asked.

"I-It's nothing... we're just... close to the Dreadfort." He said shivery.

Yara got a frown on her face and said "I tried to rescue you, you know."

"I know... but-"

"No 'buts.' It's just a place now, and you'll never see Ramsay Snow again. You can have Jon Snow to thank for that." She interrupted.

"I do. I have a lot to thank him for... and what does he have me to thank for? I betrayed Robb. How am I supposed to face him after that? Daenerys is allying with him, and sooner or later he'll realize I'm here." He said with worry in his voice.

Letting go of the past for him would be one thing - but confronting Jon would be even harder. It hard enough speaking to Sansa, but she had a kind heart. One full of love and forgiveness, and she would've protected him from Jon if he had all asked. And all he could think about was how horribly he had treated him. Not only did he betray his family, but also acted like Jon was never a part of it.

"Hey, you didn't kill Robb - that was Walder Frey. So what? Maybe you killed Rodrik Cassel, but they kept you from your real family as a hostage for years. Years! If anything, they owe you an apology." Yara said with motivation in her voice.

"And when did my father give me any praise for anything?" Theon asked.

"He never praised anyone, he was stubborn like that - you'd kn-"

"Or my brother Rodrik who was too drunk all the time to notice I even existed? Or Maron who lied about stealing my toys as a child, and tormented me through most of my growing up? Eddard treated me like I was one of his own sons. Robb treated me like a brother. Never reminded me I wasn't one of them, he acted like I was." Theon said a bit more heated now.

"I cared Theon! Your father may not have, but I did! He was against me even going to save you at the Dreadfort, I came when no one else wanted to - and when they didn't I made them!" She retorted.

"You came too late..." He said quietly.

Before Yara could even speak, some bells on the ship started ringing - which had caught her attention. Afterward, he started feeling some regret for how he spoke to her.

He was about to say something, but Yara interrupted him, telling him "Save it."

One of the crewmates yelled from the crow's nest "Ships ahoy, Captain! Greyjoy flags. Approaching from the south!"

Theon and Yara both walked to the edge of the ship and Yara pulled out a telescope looking into the distance, and saw the ships. From what he could tell, there was likely only about fifty ships approaching.

"Those aren't are own ships... are they?" Theon asked.

Yara shouted back to the crewmates "Archers, knock arrows! Tie everything down and prepare for a fight!"

Dothraki ran back and forth grabbing spears, and arakhs alike.

"There's only what? Forty, fifty ships out there? We heavily outnumber them here." Theon said.

"That won't be the last of Euron's fleet. He wants us to take that bait. Reel in the anchors! Let the sails loose and sail away, I don't want to get trapped here!" Yara commanded.

The crew started reeling in the anchors, and crewmates were shouting to each other from boat to boat relaying the commands. However before Their boat could release the sails, another fleet of fifty started approaching from the North. Yara took notice to it and let out a swear.

"If we try to break off to the east, those ships will cut off half of our forces by the time we make it through." Yara said.

"It doesn't matter... look." Theon said as he pointed to the east.

As he pointed, there was the bulk of Euron's army. It had to have been at least four hundred ships closing in on them. Everywhere was blocked except the land. They weren't left with many places to go. He looked to Yara wondering what she might do.

"Theon... go to the nearest camp Daenerys set up on her way to Winterfell. Take a horse, and go tell the queen her fleet is under attack, and we'll fight as long as we can. If our fleet falls, we'll retreat back to Winterfell and hope to meet her there." Yara ordered him.

"And leave you? A raven could carry this message!" Theon said.

"Well gee Theon, why didn't I think of that? Thank goodness there are ravens who have been taught to fly from Meereen to Winterfell- oh wait, there are none since she never even knew the damned castle existed until recently!" Yara said sarcastic.

"Yara..." He muttered.

"Go, Theon! You know I'm a better fighter than you are regardless, I'll handle this." Yara told him.

"I... I'm sorry I-" He tried to say, but was interrupted with Yara telling him "Just go, Theon!"

He ran over to the nearest row boat and got in it.

He told an Unsullied soldier "Release the boat!"

The Unsullied did as he was told, and began lowering it. The unsullied released it so quickly, the boat landed in the water and splashed some of the freezing water on him. He shivered from the cold, and started rowing as quickly as he could to the land. He could see some of the more distant ships on the ocean fighting the other Grejoy soldiers that had boarded their ship - however they were so far it was impossible to tell who was winning. As he rowed, he kept looking back at Yara on her ship - and hoped she would be okay.

While he paid so much attention to Yara, his boat grounded on to land and he got off the boat. He started running running into the deep forests which covered the land's beach - but he couldn't help himself from looking back every now and then to see if he could still see Yara. Eventually he ran deep enough into the forest that he couldn't see her anymore. He felt more alone then, then he had on his return back to Pyke.

* * *

Jon

* * *

The snow was so deep, it almost seemed like walls around them where the roads met during some parts. Thankfully those places were few and far between - however it still was worrying. The road to Winterfell and the Wall was always a treacherous one, but it was twice that during winter. Bran was sitting in front of him on his horse, and he held him close - making sure he'd never fall.

"How much further is it to Winterfell?" Bran asked.

"Not much further. We should start to see it soon." Jon said.

"This fuckin' cold..." He could hear Edd mutter.

"If it's this harsh 'ere, I hate to imagine how much worse it is back up North." Ygritte said.

After he heard what Ygritte said, he felt a chill go down his spine.

Beric Dondarrion rode up next to him and asked "So... after we get to the neck... how long do you think we'll last?"

"Longer than if we'd stayed at Castle Black. If what Bran saw was true, then they would've surely surrounded us in a day or two. I imagine they must be quite surprised to find no one will be there. If they haven't found out already." He told Beric.

"So, Bran... you saw this in a vision?" Beric asked him.

"I did... there were thousands of them. they climbed up a part of the Wall no one was guarding. Even with the Wil- ... free folk guarding it, it still wasn't enough people to cover all of the Wall." Bran answered.

"Can you control these visions? What you want to see?" Beric asked.

"No... not since I was with the Three Eyed Raven. He was able to show me things he wanted to show me. I think it has something to do with the Weirwood trees. When I was... well, that's beside the point. Now I keep having these dreams, like the dreams I've had since I was a boy. I can't control what I see, I only see whatever my dreams show me." Bran told him.

"You have a special gift, Bran. Perhaps when we get to Winterfell, we can find you a Weirwood tree and put that theory to the test." Beric suggested.

As Jon rode his horse, he could finally see Winterfell.

"There. I see it now." He told everyone.

"About bloody time. I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I haven't had a chance to clean myself off in fucking days." The Hound said.

"Believe me - I am just as anxious as you are. I've been the one having to sit behind you smelling the stench for days." Tyrion added.

Beric slowed down his horse and went to calm down the Hound. Afterward, Daenerys rode up closer to him.

"It's not going to be easy convincing all the Northern Houses to abandon them and travel down south with us. I wonder if it might only make it harder with me by your side when you ask them." Daenerys said.

"They're going to know the second we step foot through the gates that we're working together - if not already from you showing up there and stopping the Lannister invasion. I think we should tell them that you're under my command - At least for the time. As long as they think that, it'll likely be fine for you to be there. But they might not take it so kindly if they see their 'King of the North' bending the knee to a Targaryen queen. " Jon suggested.

"So be it. But remember this little alliance of ours requires cooperation on both our parts. I'll play whatever role it takes for now, but remember that we're still _truly_ serving as equals. Which is quite generous on my behalf all things considered." She said.

"I know... I appreciate your trust in me. In all of us, really. I hope we find a way to stop the White Walkers so I can live to see this dream of yours come true. I've never been much into politics, but I know Westeros has gone too long without a good ruler." He said complimenting her.

"Huh..." Bran suddenly said with some curiosity in his tone.

He looked to Bran with a look as if asking _"what is it?"_

"Jon... We're about to arrive at Winterfell. Take me to the Weirwood tree in the godswood as soon as you can. Please." Bran requested.

"Alright, you don't need to beg." He replied.

The horses started to approach the gate and Ser Davos saw them from atop the castle wall.

"Thank the gods..." He could hear Davos mutter.

He snickered a little and then turned to Daenerys, asking "Your grace, may I ask that you allow me to take Bran to the Weirwood now? I have no doubt you and Davos can get our people settled in."

"Actually, given what I've heard of your brother's... gift? I think I would like to see what will happen. I'll allow Tyrion to get gather everyone together." The queen replied.

After being with Tyrion a little while, he was okay with that. It took him a little while to figure out whether or not he could trust him again - but Tyrion seemed qualified. Daenerys certainly thought so. The gates to Winterfell opened up and they rode in together.

Davos came down the steps leading up to the wall and said "I was worried you'd never return. The lords of the Northern Houses who didn't go with you have been a nervous wreck ever since you left. Especially with Lord Baelish's trickery... we still don't know where he took Sansa."

"I know... but I made the right call by staying. The White Walkers _are_ coming. We're going to have to leave soon." He told Davos.

Davos seemed a little surprised and said "Okay... and uh- Daenerys Targaryen, we're glad to see you again. I assume everything went well between you and Jon Snow?"

"I will allow my hand, Tyrion to inform you on everything that happened at Castle Black. Jon and myself have other businesses to attend to here in Winterfell." She told him.

Davos looked to him for reassurance, and he gave him a confident nod.

"I see. And, that boy you have with you? Is that your brother?" Davos asked.

"Aye. This is Bran. I assume you heard from the letters I sent you?" Jon said.

"Yes. It's very nice to meet you, Bran Stark. Your brother is a very good man." Davos said.

"Thank you... he is." Bran said to him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I'll see about getting everyone accommodated." Davos said as he started walking to the back of their group.

Jon got off of his horse, and helped Bran off before carrying him. He looked to Daenerys and she got off her's as well. Together, they started walking to the Godswood. There was plenty of snow falling around them - setting quite a beautiful scenery, despite the harsh cold air.

"So you both grew up here?" Daenerys questioned.

"I remember when Father caught me sleeping up in the tree once. I used to climb a lot before..." Bran trailed off.

"I didn't spend too much time here as a child, unlike Bran. I mostly kept to myself. Never spent a lot of time here." He told her.

Once they got to the Weirwood, he set Bran down next to the tree. Bran started looking at it, and looked back at his hand.

"What do you plan on doing?" He asked him.

"When I first saw the vision of you... being born - I touched a Weirwood tree. The same way I touched the Three Eyed Raven's roots to the tree there. I'm thinking... maybe I can find out how to stop the White Walkers... or at least a target to aim for, where they're coming from maybe. But it could be dangerous." Bran said.

"How dangerous are we talking?" Jon asked.

"When I saw a vision where the Night King was the last time... he could see me. Usually when I see visions, no one could see me but the Three Eyed Raven - but the Night King could. I don't think he could kill me, but when he touched me he left a mark on my arm. It somehow told him where Me, Meera, Hodor and the Three Eyed Raven were. If I try it and he were to catch me... he'd know where I am. He might still know where I am from the last time..." Bran said with some doubt in his voice.

"Then that's too great a risk. When we're about to leave Winterfell maybe, But we'll have to be quick about it. And even then the Night King might try to chase us down. If that risk is as great as you say, then we should wait until he already knows where we are. Then it will make no difference." He told him.

After hearing what Bran said, there was no way he could let him try to see a vision of the White Walkers.

"Alright... but there is one more thing." Bran said.

"What?" He asked.

"The Winterfell Crypts. I've been having dreams about them - even before I had visions. I've always been too afraid to go down there on my own - But you had the dreams too." Bran said.

He looked to Daenerys and asked "Are you still sure you want to come with us? The crypts would be a lot worse than the godswood here."

"I'm not afraid. It can't be much worse than the House of the Undying." She replied.

He looked back to Bran, and picked him up again. They started walking to the crypts instead now.

Bran looked to Daenerys and said "In a dream... I heard someone call you Khaleesi."

She seemed a little surprised and said "Well... I suppose you really can see things. Khaleesi was a title I was given when I was married to my husband, Khal Drogo. Some of the Dothraki tribes still call me that. But you can just call me Daenerys. My brother used to call me Dany for short."

"What happened to your husband?" Jon asked Her.

"Well... we did everything we could, but he sustained an injury. It eventually got an infection of some sort, and in the end we couldn't save him." She said with a saddened tone.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." He said sympathetic.

Afterward, they arrived at the gate to the crypts. Daenerys grabbed a torch, as she must've been able to tell his hands were full holding Bran. He pushed open the gate and stepped inside. They proceeded down some stone steps into the first floor of the crypts. The rooms were all empty this close to the entrance. The crypts went very deep, and had plenty of room for many Stark generations to be buried here. They continued to descend further down into the crypts. As they walked, they started to come across statues now.

There was one for Rickon first which had recently been disturbed, then for Bran, and Arya, then Sansa, and Robb. Places for each of them to be buried, except for him. He started wish they hadn't needed to use them so recently after their making. Further down the line they went, the lesser people they started to know. Jon stopped at Lyanna's statue.

"That's Lyanna... my mother I suppose. I wish I could've met her. Fath- ... Lord Stark, never talked about her much - but all he ever said were good things." He said with a heavy heart.

"I'm sure if she could see you, she would be proud of what you've become." Daenerys said strangely kind.

"Does anything seem off to you about this statue? I was just thinking that maybe Lyanna being Jon's mother, her grave might have something to do with him." Bran suggested.

"Well I don't plan to go digging up her grave based on a hunch. But if you could prove something was down there, then maybe." Jon told him.

"Right... well, my dreams are usually of the deepest parts of the crypts anyway." Bran said.

He continued to carry bran further down into the crypts. After carrying him this long, he would've normally taken a break for a moment as he was quite heavy now - but he had plenty of adrenaline being down in the crypts. Bran may have been seeing dreams, but what he saw was nightmares. As they passed the statues, he couldn't help but fear one of them would grab him and tell him to leave. As they continued deeper into the crypts, they got dustier and the ground looked less disturbed. Soon, there were names and statues that neither him or Bran recognized.

They were going so far down, they had to have been at least four hundred feet underground. They had seen many long hallways with many statues, but now there were none. It was an empty room just like the entrance to the crypts, except they were deeper now.

"No more statues... that's almost more unsettling than when there were statues." Jon said.

"Something's down here. There has to be. I can feel it." Bran said.

As they continued walking, there was now a door at the end of the hallway. It looked like a door you'd keep for a dungeon, with a lock on it.

"Your grace, hold Bran for me. I'll carry the torch." He said to Daenerys.

Daenerys passed the torch over to him as he gave her Bran. He then held the torch up with his left hand, and kept a fist with his right hand clenched on his sword - ready to draw it from its scabbard.

"Do you really think that's necessary this far down here? Could anything even still be alive here?" Daenerys said.

"I don't know... but I'll feel a hell of a lot safer with my sword at the ready." He told her.

He approached the door slowly and held his torch up to it. The lock on the door seemed old, and rusted over a long period of time. He looked back at Daenerys and Bran, and they seemed fine where they were. He turned back to the lock. He drew his sword from his scabbard and took a deep breath - trying to keep calm. He raised Longclaw and slammed it down on to the lock. The lock fell apart surprisingly easily, and he felt he had hit it maybe a little harder than he needed to. He sheathed Longclaw, but kept his hand on the end in case he needed to draw it quickly.

He started to push the door open slowly, peeking carefully inside. He couldn't see anything, as it was still dark, but the surrounding area seemed like it was going to be a large room. Larger than the hallways and stone steps. He opened the door all the way and heard a crack come from close by. He watched as he had activated some sort of tripwire, which set a powder of some sort on fire. It lead a trail across the ground illuminating the room, and casting light to an enormous tree, that had to have been dead for hundreds - if not thousands of years.

"Bran... look at this..." He said in surprise.

Daenerys brought Bran over, and she seemed just as shocked as Jon was.

"That tree. That's not a Weirwood tree. I've never seen it before." Bran said.

From what he could tell, the tree seemed to have lost whatever original color it had. If it was white like the Weirwoods, it had definitely lost its color. It was black, and seemed lifeless, but that would be expected considering how long it must've been in the crypts.

"Daenerys, set me down... next to the tree. I need to try it." Bran requested.

"This Could be dangerous, Bran. are you sure this is worth it? This place..." He told him.

"After all we went through to come down here? After all the time that has past before anyone has come here? You know yourself the White Walkers are coming. If this tree has some knowledge - some power. We have to take that chance. Even if the Night King finds us from this." Bran told him.

Daenerys looked to Jon, and he paused for a moment. "Alright... set him down."

She walked Bran over to the tree, and crouched down before laying him next to it. He watched as Bran adjusted himself closer to one of the roots. He carefully reached out to the root of the tree, and ever so lightly touched it. Bran's eyes then changed like the way he saw Orell when he warged into his eagle.

* * *

Bran

* * *

The tree had no face, but he started hearing whispers. Bits of the room changed around him, and now the tree was alive. There was even a hole in the roof so far, that it cast a ray of sunlight down on to the tree.

He heard the tree whisper to him "Bran..."

He realized he was standing now in his vision - and took a step back from the tree. Then the world changed around him again. He saw a castle made of ice, and glowing in front of him. It lit up like a beacon, as all the land around him was shrouded in darkness. He only blinked for a moment, and then he was inside. There was a Weirwood inside the ice castle, with roots going deep into the ground - and a White Walker standing in front of it. But then his surroundings changed.

He blinked and the world changed again. He saw the first White Walker being created. A shard of dragonglass was slowly plunged into his heart before a Weirwood tree.

 _"The Weirwoods... that's how they get their magic_ _!"_ He thought to himself.

He then blinked, and the world changed again. And he saw two of the children of the forest. He heard the children speaking a language unknown to him, but somehow he was understanding what they were saying. He wondered if it had to do with the visions that he could understand them, just like he could stand.

One of the children said "They have made something... a weapon capable of defeating White Walkers - and it's not the Dragonglass. However the White Walkers are a threat to us now. I can't control them, they are killing both, us - and the men who have come raiding our land."

The other 'child' said "I know. And one of the men destroyed another one of our Weirwoods... with the less of them we have, the weaker our magic will become in proximity. The gods cannot help us when all their trees are cut."

He watched as the world faded around him, and turn into a winter forest. It was dark, and only the light of the moon gave any illumination.

He saw someone running through the forest with a sword that had snapped in half, as giant spiders were chasing him down. He started to recognize him from Old Nan's stories. This was the last hero. Things started to fade to darkness, and he saw the man again speaking to men of the Night's Watch.

The last hero spoke saying "To end this realm of darkness, we must beat back the White Walkers. As long as they roam Westeros, we may never see the sunlight again! They were the ones to cast this darkness upon us, and we must beat them back or die trying!"

Men of the Night's Watch drew their swords and raised them high into the air cheering along with him. The dark winter world around him then started getting flames around the horizon, and he started seeing bodies pile on top of each other, and Wights fighting them all, as they used fire and flaming swords against them. The weather was still harsh and had brutally cold snow, however the men kept fighting as long as they possibly could. His vision then changed again.

He was at King's Landing now, and he saw the mad king again. He was at a council table, but only Tywin was there.

"Everyone is counting on me to be a good ruler. Do you know what kind of pressure that is?" Aerys asked him.

"No. I've only learned the pressure of cleaning up the mistakes you've made." Tywin retorted.

"I... I'm sorry. It can't be easy on you either." Aerys said with shame in his voice.

His face was filled with shock. This wasn't the 'Mad King' he'd heard about. He sounded afraid, and had a lack for confidence.

"So... let me handle your place. As your hand, it is my duty to rule when you cannot. Allow me to be the one to show up to the meetings, and sit the Iron Throne - while you can relax in your bedroom." Tywin suggested.

"No... it- it is my duty to rule. They have to see me, otherwise no one will take me seriously." Aerys told him.

Bran could tell quite clearly Tywin was trying to take the throne out from under Aerys. The room started changing, and now it seemed late at night - and Aerys was asleep in his bed.

He watched him as he was sleeping, and Aerys would make a couple of twitches every now and then. It almost seemed he was having a nightmare. He was confused as to why it was important he saw this. He turned around to see if there was something he was missing, and he saw the Three Eyed Raven watching Aerys. He jumped back from the sudden surprise of his presence, he was dead. He died during his vision.

"Y... are you?" He was having trouble even talking from the shock.

The Three Eyed Raven didn't speak, or acknowledge his presence. He only stared at Aerys. Bran turned to look at Aerys as well, and he twitching again. As he watched, Aerys opened his eyes and they looked like he was having a vision. He looked back toward the Three Eyed Raven, and realized his eyes were the same way.

He suddenly heard Aerys yell from behind him "Burn them all!" just as his vision changed. He was now in the courtroom of King's Landing. He saw his grandfather standing on a wooden pyre with a noose around his neck, with wildfire starting to climb up to him. He saw another man with leather cord around his neck, reaching out to a sword just out of his reach - and trying to get to him.

"Don't, Brandon! Let me go!" Rickard called out to him.

Bran quickly recognized it was his uncle, Brandon. Brandon watched in horror as the wood cracked from the fire, and started hanging Rickard. It seemed to have sent Brandon into a panic and caused him to try sprinting for the sword multiple times, but it was too much and was strangling him. It was only a matter of time before he had lost all the strength he had and died trying to save him. The vision then started to fade, and he was now at Winterfell.

He saw his mother, Catelyn with tears in her eyes. He then remembered that she was betrothed to his uncle. The vision started to fade, and he immediately wondered if it was the Three Eyed Raven who caused the Mad King to go insane, resulting in his birth.

* * *

 _ **I spent the LONGEST time debating whether or not it was time to reveal what was in the crypts, or even if I should reveal what's in them. Obviously by doing this, there will be a huge chance none of this is actually what will be down there. And it is taking a drastic turn toward my own version of the story. Most of the story has been speculation of what likely would or should happen. So I hope everyone liked the crypts scene.**_

 _ **Also as far as the big gap of when I stopped writing, I wanted a break from writing because:**_

 _ **1\. I needed to think of good ieas.**_  
 _ **2\. I didn't like having to worry about getting one out every 3 weeks consistently. This is for fun while waiting for seaseon 7, not a job.  
**_ _ **And 3. I was getting burnt out on writing the story. And if I don't like writing it, it's not gonna turn out good.**_

 _ **However I got plenty of private messages and reviews asking where I had gone, and to come back. And I eventually missed out on writing the story, it was really fun to do and still is now. So I'm not sure anymore of my time schedule, but the story will definitely be done before season 7 of the show airs. How soon it actually finished I'm unsure of.**_

 _ **Also, I will probably be a lot more active from here on. Also if anyone has any questions about my time schedule or how the next chapter is coming along, you can private message me. I will read them.**_

 _ **And I did promise I won't leave this story on a cliffhanger. So Don't be worried leaving reviews asking me to come back. "He always comes back." -Samwell.**_

 _ **So I hope you enjoyed chapter 18.**_

 _ **(Also I worked really hard on this. About 7,000 words this chapter, and the usual is about 4,000)**_


	19. Chapter 19: Conflict and fear

Sansa

* * *

She was sitting in Petyr's carriage, riding back with Jaime not far behind on a horse now. It seemed Littlefinger's plan was working to get him to join them, but it worried her that he was still acting so trusting. This wasn't his usual attitude. Petyr started looking at her. She felt uneasy - like he was reading her thoughts. If she didn't ask him what he was planning, she felt she might be overwhelmed with the suspicion and tension.

She finally broke the silence asking "Why didn't you tell me all of this sooner?"

Petyr tilted his head asking "We talked about a lot the past couple of hours, about which-" "About a Targaryen meeting with my brother." Sansa interrupted.

"If I had told you then, would you have continued with me to see Jaime Lannister? Or would you have demanded I turn this cart around and make haste for your brother?" He asked quaintly.

"I don't care, you still owed me the explanation. Taking me from my home without even a second thought isn't the best way to be my friend. We're on shaky ground as it is!" She said just loud enough to make her point.

Petyr stayed silent - just listening to her speak. It gave her some mild disgust at how emotionless he could seem sometimes. She crossed her arms and adjusted herself to face the window outside the carriage. She could see Knights of the Vale, and Lannister Horseman guarding their carriage walking at pace with them.

"You're worried... don't be. Sansa, I will never hurt you. Everything I have done has been in the best interest for you and your family." He said.

"Only when the interest of my family coincides with yours... it just so happens they have lately - but as soon as we're expendable we'll have our throats slit in our sleep." She spat harshly.

"Never... not unless you need a throat to be slit." He stated seriously.

There was a pause in the conversation. She felt like it was going nowhere. Any time she would try to question him he would dodge it. He was like talking to a wall made of sand toward her - It felt like she had to dig for hours just to get the truth out of him. She then began to wonder if he really did want to help. He could have left Jon to die during the battle with Ramsay if he wanted, yet he rode in an army to save him. She then wondered if that's what he wanted her to think... to question herself.

"Back at Winterfell you told me you wanted to sit on the Iron Throne and have me by your side, if the Targaryen wants the same thing then why would you ask Jaime to join her? It doesn't seem like she will want to hand it over peacefully to you." She stated.

"Daenerys is forging an alliance with your brother to take the Iron Throne from Cersei. I promised to help you and your family - this is helping your brother." He answered.

"You lie. You wouldn't give up the Iron Throne just to help my brother." She said harshly.

"What can I tell you to make to believe me?" He asked.

She paused, in thought. _"Nothing."_ She thought to herself. In the moment of silence between them, the carriage suddenly stopped. She looked outside the window - obviously able to tell they weren't there yet.

"What's going on out there?" Littlefinger called out to the driver.

"There's a woman in the road. She says she needs to speak with Sansa, and that it's urgent. I tried to tell her to move out of the road - but she isn't budging." The driver answered.

Sansa looked to Petyr and whispered "Do you think Cersei sent her? We weren't exactly quiet bringing half a Lannister army. "

He shook his head and whispered "Who knows? You stay inside and wait until I tell you to come out."

He opened the door and stepped out of the cart. She began watching him through the window of the carriage until he walked forward out of her sight range. She moved herself closely to the window listening ever so carefully to hear what he was going to say.

"You're not Sansa Stark." She heard a low pitched voice speak. She didn't recognize the voice other than it was female.

"Are you sure?" She heard Littlefinger reply smugly.

"I'm not in the mood to play games." She heard the woman say.

"And neither am I, my dear. So perhaps you could step out of the way of our carriage and let us be on our separate ways." Petyr said.

"There are Lannister soldiers down these roads. I know the least guarded places, but I'll only tell you where they are if I get to speak to Sansa." The woman said.

"And what makes you think I even know where the Stark girl is?" Petyr asked.

"Don't lie to me, I've seen you two together." The woman replied.

There was a moment of silence between the two - either that, or they began talking too quietly for her to hear them anymore. She saw Jaime riding past the window and over to where Petyr went. By the way things seemed to be going, it didn't sound too comforting. She had only a moment to decide what to do. She pondered for a moment, and then decided she should reveal herself before things could get bloody. She took a deep breath and opened the door to the carriage.

After stepping out, she began walking toward Petyr with a callous look upon her face. Now was the worst time to look weak. The woman seemed to be on a horse, and wearing rough ragged clothing. Her face was not one that she recognized, and her stature was short. She looked older, but not any older than her late thirties. Suddenly she started wishing Brienne was with her.

"Ahh, there she is." Baelish said smiling.

"What do you want from us?" She demanded.

"That's the first thing you ask?" The lady stated.

"You said it yourself, there are Lannister soldiers everywhere - and we do not have time to dawdle while you continue to be vague." She stated coldly.

"Seeing you is a start. Come, I can guide you down the right paths to avoid the Lannisters." The girl offered.

"It's quite convenient you show up and offer us guidance with no request of anything in return. And so far you haven't given us a good reason to trust you." Jaime added.

"Then what would it take?" The woman asked.

"Your name, for a start." Sansa said.

The woman paused for a moment, and said "Jil. Jil Snow."

"A bastard born in the North I take it? Are you part of Jon Snow's army - is that why you wanted to find Sansa?" Petyr asked.

Jil's expression seemed to tense for just a moment, just before replying "I'm not part of his army, but I'm certainly no supporter of the Lannisters."

Petyr watched her for a moment, and then turned to Sansa whispering to her "I'll leave the decision to you."

She paused for a moment reflecting on what they had learned about her. Regardless, it seemed that had little choice. She knew there were many people that would tell Cersei where they were. Afterward, she came to a decision.

"You say you're northern born?" Jil nodded, and she continued saying "We can trust her, Lord Baelish. Have the carriage follow her lead."

"Very well, my lady." Petyr said.

She turned to walk back to the carriage and Jaime asked "We're taking one hell of a gamble, any reason as to why you're willing to risk it?"

"Because Northerners _stay_ loyal to us. Something a Southerner wouldn't understand." She answered, just before climbing into the carriage.

* * *

Samwell

* * *

Finally, it seemed he had some free time. He began walking to the trainer's courtyards. This was where people came to learn all sorts of things physical. On the far left side, he saw a man teaching someone to duel. He looked quite graceful in his movements.

The trainer poked the wooden sword into his student's chest saying "You see your problem yet? You are making yourself a larger target facing front toward me. Turn yourself side face to me and loosen your grip - this is water dancing, not water drowning."

He seemed very professional. He continued through the courtyard until he found the blacksmith's forges. There were many different forges, and students all attempting to make swords with their trainers.

He walked up to one of the trainers and asked "Excuse me, I heard someone here was learning about crafting Valyrian steel. Can point me in the right direction?"

The smith replied "Well I don't know who's training him, but he's sitting by the forge over there."

He smiled and said "Thank you."

He began walking over to the student and asked "Excuse me? I was told you could help me with something."

The student looked to him and said "Depends... what did you need?"

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Samwell Tarly. I'm studying to become a maester here- among other things." He told him.

"Gendry Waters, though I don't know what a maester would want with a bastard smith." The student said.

"I was told you were studying Valyrian steel... learning how to re-work it." Sam said.

"Yeah... figured it'd be the only way I could make money." Gendry stated.

"Well what if I told you I might know a couple ways to forge it?" He said confidently.

Gendry stood up from his seat curious, yet cautious.

"I'd say you were a drunken fool."

He smiled saying "Maybe I am a fool, but I can assure you I'm sober as can be. I've been studying since the moment I took a boat to come here."

"Where would we even begin?" Gendry asked skeptically.

Sam sat down on a bench near where Gendry was seated a moment ago and pulled out 'Before the Doom.' He began flipping through the pages to his bookmark, and Gendry sat down next to him looking at what he was going to be shown. Eventually, he came across his book mark and pointed on the page.

"Here. It says _'In the most ancient of texts, they would refer Valyrian steel as Dragonsteel!'_ " He told him.

"Yeah... but right there it also says 'it was never confirmed that Dragonsteel was Valyrian steel." Gendry added.

Sam quickly replied saying "Just, keep listening. And here, it also says ' _The ancient texts would also speak of 'Dragonglass' to kill the White Walkers. It is unclear - but believed that obsidian carved swords were what kept the undead at bay. As can be read from the texts.'_ "

Gendry paused and then asked "And?"

"I had a theory. The ancient texts were written when the knowledge of how to make Valyrian steel was still known. Dragonsteel and Dragonglass both contain the word 'dragon' in them. There seems to be a correlation between the two." Sam pointed out.

"Okay... but one of these things kills 'undead' and one is just a fancy sword. That's a pretty big difference." Gendry said skeptical again.

He shook his head telling him "But that's where you're wrong. When I was in the Night's Watch, the Lord Commander had a Valyrian steel sword named Longclaw. He fought and killed a White Walker with one!"

"'Killed a White Walker?' Okay, now I know you're joking with me."

"It's a long story. It's part of the reason why I'm here really. The Night's Watch needs Valyrian steel swords to fight the White Walkers, and we are going to need to fight them when the time comes." He said serious.

"Alright. Let's say you're right, Valyrian Steel and Dragonglass have a correlation. How would you propose making the sword?" Gendry asked.

Sam got a little nervous and said "I w-was hoping you could tell me that. I don't really know much about how swords work."

Gendry sighed and said "I just wouldn't know where to start. Not to mention the trainers here aren't gonna be happy with me using their gold to experiment on swords."

"Well... I may be able to solve both." Sam said.

Gendry looked back at him, and Sam pulled out a piece of paper saying "This is a list I've compiled together of multiple combinations to try and make the sword. We could try infusing obsidian and steel together, or we could try hollowing out the blade and inserting an obisdian rod into it or-"

Gendry interrupted saying "You do realize how hard sword crafting is right? And blades aren't meant to be hollow - they could crack easily... but I'll see what I can do with this list. But where are we going to get the gold for all the steel?"

"I have a Brother - Dickon, He's Lord of Hornhill, he could get us the gold we need."

The smith took a deep breath and said "Alright... I'll see what I can do. I'll let you know if I make any breakthroughs - but betting your money on a blacksmith from Fleabottom would be an understatement to say it's a gamble."

"I have faith in you. We'll get it done." He reassured.

He stood up about to leave but stopped himself saying "Oh! And... here."

He took the scabbard holding Heartsbane off and held it out. The boy looked confused and asked "What's this?"

"Valyrian Steel... maybe it'll help you figure out how to make more." He informed.

Gendry looked a little worried, but he assured him saying "Don't worry it's okay if you break it, I'm not much of a fighter anyway... but please don't break it unless you have to."

Gendry took the sword and nodded saying "I'll do my best."

He smiled toward him and then began walking back to the library.

* * *

Bran

* * *

The ground was feeling a little softer than he remembered before touching the tree. He blinked his eyes a couple times scanning the room, and realized he wasn't in the crypts anymore. He soon realized it was the old room he used to rest in after he fell from the tower. He looked to his right and saw Meera sleeping in a chair next to him. He sat himself up in the bed and said "Meera."

She seemed too deep in her sleep to hear him. He called a little louder "Meera!"

She jolted up from her nap and looked around, quickly recognizing him.

"Bran! I was worried you'd never wake up." She said.

 _"Never wake up?"_ He thought.

"How long have I been having the visions?" He asked, worried to know the answer.

"You've been out all night and day." Meera stated.

It was common for him to be out an hour at a time when he was with the Three Eyed Raven, but this time was much longer. He let out a deep sigh taking everything in he witnessed in the vision.

"There's also... your hand." She mentioned.

He shifted his focus for a moment hearing what she said, and looked at his hand. The skin was darkened, and cracked dry. As if the tree had tried to drain the life from his body. Now that he noticed it, it felt sensitive - a light touch sent immense pain through his wrist.

"Easy! We had a healer look over it - it doesn't seem fatal and he thinks it'll heal over, but no one's ever seen a situation like yours." She told him.

"Where are Jon and Daenerys? What happened when I had the visions?" He asked with some worry.

"At first they thought you were fine. But after a few moments, they saw that happening to your hand. They pried you away from the root you were holding and brought you out of the crypts to get someone to look over you." She said.

He let out a small sigh of relief. He had no idea what went down with them while in his unconscious state.

"Well, at least they're alright. Thanks for being here, I hate waiting for someone to come check on me." He said kindly.

"You know, you could've taken me with you." She said.

He looked at her strangely and said "I don't understand, it's not like you could've stopped what happened to my hand."

"It's just... look, I know you're grateful to be with your family again and I respect that. I'm happy for you... but you're the only family I've got left. We've come this far, and I don't want to be left behind while you're in danger." She told him worryingly.

He smiled a little and said "Gods, you sound like my mother."

"And gods know I've felt like one having to worry about you all the time." She stated, rolling her eyes.

"What about your father? Isn't he your family?" He added.

"We haven't spoken since I told him what happened to Jojen..." She said quietly.

Hearing her, he felt sympathetic toward her.

"And losing you too would be too much... if we have to do something dangerous, I'll understand - but I want to be right there with you when we have to do it. And to at least try and protect you when I can." She pleaded.

"I understand. I was heartbroken when I'd heard what happened to Robb and mother... I can't promise we won't lose anyone else along the way, but I'm not going anywhere..." He assured.

"Good." He heard her say.

There was a moment of silence between them. He started thinking back to the Weirwood tree where she had kissed him and wondered if it was more than a 'family' kind of kiss. His face began to blush thinking on it.

He noticed Meera was looking at him strangely and she asked "What?"

He quickly replied "N-nothing, but we'll need to talk. The visions I saw this time... it's important. We're going to need to get Jon for this."

* * *

Jon

* * *

He was sitting in The Great Hall writing down letters to all the houses in the North, requesting for everyone to meet him at Winterfell. Ygritte would sort each one he wrote and give it to a Night's Watchman, who would release it with a raven.

"The Northerners aren't going to like this, everything they own are in their houses." Davos said.

"They don't 'ave a choice. Either they stay 'ere and die from the Wights and Walkers, or they come with us 'n live." Ygritte told him.

"We have to convince them. If we don't, they won't just die... they'll come back. And the last thing we need is a couple thousand more dead bodies to fight against." He told them.

He took a deep sigh and started rubbing his forehead. He felt so much weight on himself. Everyone was depending on him, and if he made one wrong call - hundreds if not thousands could die.

"Has anyone checked on Bran?" He asked.

"Not yet. But the girl, Meera Reed? She said she would come get us if anything changed." Davos said.

He rolled up a letter he'd finished writing and gently threw it on the table. Ygritte then grabbed it and handed it off to the steward.

Afterward a Night's Watchman entered The Great Hall and said "My lord, there is a gathering outside. Someone had arrived at the gate delivering a message to Queen Daenerys."

He felt curious and told him "I'll be right out."

The Night's Watchman nodded his head and walked out.

"You can go on, I'll write the letters to the other houses for you." Said Davos.

He gave him a quick thank you and continued outside. Once he was outside, he saw Daenerys accompanied by some Unsullied talking to a man. As he got closer he saw a face he'd nearly forgotten. He saw Theon. As he approached, Theon started to notice him.

Theon only managed to get out "Ple-" before Jon threw his fist into him, causing Theon to fall. The Unsullied soldiers around them immediately pointed their spears at him in response. Upon notice, a bunch of the free folk put hands on their weapons causing tension between everyone.

"What are you doing!?" Daenerys shouted.

"No, I.. I deserved it..." Theon said scared.

"Aye, you deserved it! What in seven hells made you think you could come here? After what you did!?" He shouted.

"I'm sorry, just please don't hurt me!" Theon cried.

"Jon Snow, I demand that you calm yourself immediately! Theon and I are mutual allies." Daenerys stated firmly.

"You're allied with him? Then I'd suggest you rethink your partnerships your grace, because this is not someone you want as your friend!" He insisted.

Tyrion walked over to the three of them asking "What is going on over here? By the way it sounds - things aren't very good, I presume."

He looked to Tyrion and asked "Did you know about this?" pointing to Theon, who had still been laying on the ground.

"Yes, I was there when our alliance was formed." Tyrion answered.

"Then why would you agree to it?" He asked angrily

Tyrion walked over to Theon and offered a hand to him. Theon grabbed it and Tyrion pulled him to sit straight up.

"Simply put, he had ships. We needed to sail to Westeros, and he and his sister offered to give them." Tyrion answered.

"He killed two innocent boys!" He insisted.

"And you hung one, if I've heard correctly." Tyrion replied.

He immediately fell silent thinking back Olly.

"Tell me, do you regret hanging that boy?" Tyrion asked.

"I... I don't know... at the time it felt like the right thing to do." He answered quietly.

"And from his point of view what he did felt right as well. He wanted his father's love more than anything. I can relate to that feeling... all he asks for now is forgiveness." Tyrion said sympathetic.

Daenerys listened quietly to them both, hearing both sides.

"I... if I could, I'd do it all over again. I never would've betrayed Robb." Theon pleaded.

"But you can't. None of us can. All any of us can do, is to make sure we don't make the same wrong choices again. And you, Jon - can start by accepting his help." Tyrion suggested.

He stayed silent for a moment reflecting on what he'd said. He looked to Daenerys, and then looked to Tyrion. He sighed and offered a hand to Theon to pull him up to his feet. Theon cautiously took his hand, and he pulled him up. The Unsullied soldiers around them lowered their spears, and the free folk relaxed.

"It will be a long time before I even consider forgiving you... but I'll give you the chance to help." He told him.

"This had better not happen again. I refuse to be forced to choose between you two." Daenerys added.

"No, it's okay... just. I need to tell you something- It's important." Theon said.

"Go on." Daenerys said.

"I-I tried to tell you earlier! Euron, he's attacking the ships- a-and Yara's in trouble!" Theon urgently said.

He didn't quite understand all of what it meant, but knowing Daenerys' ships were being attacked made his heart sink.

Daenerys asked with a troubling look on her face "How many were there?"

"...Too many. I couldn't count all the ships. We need to go back and rescue my sister - please." Theon pleaded

Daenerys looked to him and said "Jon, there are many ships there with allies I promised to help. Dothraki, the people of Dorne, Tyrells, Unsullied - I have to help them."

"Where did you land your ships?" He asked her.

"East of a castle you call Karhold." She answered.

"Your grace, if you go there - I can't promise you'll be safe. That's still further North of here and we know the White Walkers have breached The Wall. And your dragons will be able to protect you for a while, but not forever. Your dragons can burn the Wights but not the White Walkers... if you must go, understand the risks... and don't die." He said cautiously.

"I didn't come all this way to die, but I won't stand by as people who swore to serve me die because I failed to protect them. Would you?" She said intensely.

"No..."

"Good."

"Well.. I suppose I'll be staying here. I'm not one much for fighting, and in case of the off chance you do die - I'll make sure what you've accomplished won't go to waste." Tyrion added.

"If you don't hear from me any longer than four days, presume I am dead. Now, I have to go prepare an army. Jon Snow, I'll leave some of my Unsullied here with you. If we fail to save the fleet, you'll still have people willing to fight against the undead." Daenerys told them.

"Thank you, your grace. And I hope you save your people." He told her.

"As do I." She replied.

Daenerys turned and left the courtyard, and Theon followed her.

* * *

Cersei

* * *

She knew she couldn't let Jaime get away with what he'd done. She knew people would betray her, but Jaime hurt the worst. She was having trouble deciding on whether or not to kill him. Had Qyburn never convinced the Lannister guard he contacted to give up where he was, she wouldn't even be in a position to make that choice. But it mattered little now. She rode through her army toward the front of it and looked at Casterly Rock's gate. She turned back looking at the rest of her army and smiled. There was three thousand of them, Lannister and Greyjoys. At the front she sat atop her horse next to her Lannister commander, Fern and Ser Gregor.

"The men are ready for anything, your grace. Whenever you're ready." Commander Fern told her.

"Good. We'll intimidate them to letting us in. If they don't, we'll break our way in." She commanded.

"As you wish, your grace." Fern agreed.

She rode up closer to the gate with Fern and Ser Gregor next to her. She could see a few traitorous Lannister guards guarding the gate.

She approached and one of them and they swallowed hard in fear saying "Queen Cersei, We didn't expect you to arrive. What are you doing here?"

"I'm afraid that's private business, may I please enter the castle?" She said with a light smile.

The guard looked at some of the others manned atop the wall and looked back at her silently.

"What's the matter? You can't open the gate for your rightful ruler?" She asked acting dumbfounded.

The guard appeared to be sweating but didn't say anything.

"Allow me to rephrase - Open your gate and let myself and my army in, otherwise we will break down your walls and I will watch gleefully as Ser Gregor maims and rapes every last one of you traitorous bastards until you are all nothing but ash." She threatened.

The guard looked to the others concerned, but still didn't say anything.

"No? Alright then. Have it your way." She turned her horse around as a bunch of Lannister guards drew crossbows and started pointing at the walls.

Suddenly, the gatekeeper shouted "Wait!"

She smiled and turned her horse back around to face him.

"We... We'll open the gate." The guard told her.

"That's more like it." She said proudly.

The gate began to rise and she marched her army in alongside her. Upon entering the courtyard Ser Gregor dismounted his horse and helped her down from hers. She walked with him and a bunch of other Lannister soldiers into the throne room. She saw Dorna Lannister was talking to three of her other guards when she entered. Her Lannister guards immediately drew their swords upon seeing her and the few of her guards.

She heard Dorna tell them "Guards, protect me."

She stopped walking once she was about half of the way to her.

"Sweet Dorna... so you sided with my brother? I must say I'm not all the surprised. You were always a foolish, naive girl growing up." She stated mockingly.

"You murdered my husband and my poor Lancel! Why would I ever help you!?" Dorna shouted.

She laughed a little and said "Mm, funny. Kevan used to say that you would pray seven times a day, one for each god. Isn't it it funny how those very same gods indoctrinated your son and husband yet failed to save them both?"

"And you were a cruel bitch. Perhaps the most wicked I've ever had the misfortune to call my niece by marriage. And I hope the gods save a special eighth hell just for people like you." Dorna said full of hate.

She was amused by Dorna's insults. It was pleasuring listening to her not realize the full extent of the situation she was in.

"Well, that's enough of that. Let's get down to business shall we? Tell me where my brother is." She said.

"Go fuck yourself." Dorna spat back.

"I won't be the one who's getting fucked today if you keep up your attitude. Where. Is. My brother."

"I hope he kills you." Dorna said coldly.

"Very well, I suppose we wont be doing this the easy way. Ser Gregor, spare only one of her guards. We may need him later."

Ser Gregor drew his sword and she stepped back smiling at what would unfold. The Lannister guards were about to step in and help him, but she stopped them saying "No... I think Ser Gregor is more than capable of handling this."

The Lannister guards stepped back and The Mountain walked toward Dorna slowly, and the guards stood around her - protecting her as best they good. Once he was close, a guard tried to pierce his armor with a sword - but it bounced back off. The Mountain grabbed the guard by his neck and lifted him off the ground. The traitor choked and dropped his sword grasping on his large hands trying to break free. But Ser Gregor stared him down through the holes for his eyes and crushed his neck so tightly his eyes popped out of his skull and dangled from their cords. If the guard could scream he would've, but there was no way for him to even make noise.

"Oh gods!" Dorna screamed.

Even a guard yelled "Seven Hells"

Ser Gregor dropped the dead man to the floor and looked at the last two guards. And the both dropped to their knees and surrendered. It seemed he had remembered what she said though, as he stepped toward one of the surrendering guards and raised his sword high as the guard screamed for mercy. But The Mountain showed none, as he slowly drove his sword down the man's throat to the point that it went so deep, it almost came out between his legs. He then slowly pulled the sword back out and shook off a piece of an organ she couldn't recognize that clung to the sword.

Ser Gregor then walked over and placed a hand on Dorna's shoulder and she cried saying "No... please...!"

However he only steadied her as he wiped the blood from his sword off on her dress. She smiled seeing the fear in Dorna's eyes. Ser Gregor stood his sword in front of him and clasped his hands together on the pommel looking over them both. She began walking toward them until she was inches away from Dorna's face. Her eyes were closed as tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"This can all stop. Just tell me where my brother is. And then there will be no more blood, no more tears." She said toying with her sanity.

Her voice was trembling as she spoke "Sansa Stark came here... she wanted Jaime to come with her to Winterfell. To make an alliance with Daenerys Targaryen."

She did not expect to even hear Sansa's name again. It appeared the whore was making trouble for her again. As if poisoning Joffrey wasn't enough for her.

"And where did they go?" She asked.

"They took The River Road... if you hurry you can stop them before they reach the crossroad." Dorna pleaded.

"Thank you... was that so hard? Now keep your eyes closed darling. It will all be alright." She commanded Dorna.

Dorna did as she was told and continued dripping tears from her eyes as she shut them. She looked to Gregor and nodded to him, and then stepped back. Ser Gregor then raised his sword and swung as Dorna's head flew from her body and thumped to the ground, along with the rest of her. She never even saw what was coming.

She then stepped over to the traitor that was guarding her only moments ago and said "And you... what is your name?"

"L-Lory." The guard replied shivering.

"Lory... I name you ruler over Casterly Rock in my absence. It would do well for you to remember who you truly answer to, unless you want to end up like sweet Dorna." She proclaimed.

The guard looked up in shock and cried "Thank you! Thank you your grace, I will never forget for everyday that I live!"

She then turned her back to him and began walking out and Ser Gregor followed her.

* * *

 _ **It has been a long time since I've posted a chapter, but now I will continue to do these more often. My break time is officially over.**_

 _ **The chapters will be posted much more frequently now. Probably around a 2 - 3 week schedule if not sooner - Depending on how much time is left until season 7 airs, and I want to get it done before it does. But I have had plenty of time to think of good ideas while I took the break, so I have fully thought out the story from here, to the ending. So for those of you that actually stuck around throughout the entire break, I thank you very much. And those who are newer readers just reading, I hope you enjoy where the story goes. Feel free to give any comments you feel necessary.**_

 _ **And you are welcome to privately message me for conversations should you wish, I'm pretty chill and I've loved hearing what people think and listening to their own stories they're writing. So with that, I hope you enjoyed and stick around for the ending. I promised I wouldn't leave this on a cliffhanger, and I stand by that promise.**_


	20. Chapter 20: The Shivering Sea

Bran

* * *

When morning arrived, Meera got Jon and brought him to them. He began telling Jon everything. Anything that could help. It was all still very confusing what he saw. Together, they were all trying to solve it all.

"I watched a man destroy a weirwood tree, and lots of Wights died around him. He reminded me of 'the last hero' - like from Old Nan's stories." He explained.

"I don't doubt what you witnessed was true... I only wonder why. What power do the trees have over the dead?" Jon replied.

"Bran, what was that vision you saw back in the cave with the Three Eyed Raven? About the children, and the White Walkers..." Meera added

He immediately recalled it just as she said it.

"I was just about to say - I remembered the Children making the White Walkers. It was against a Weirwood tree." He mentioned.

"So we know destroying Weirwood trees hurts them, but is that the key? Is that how we're supposed to defeat them?" Jon asked.

He thought for a moment.

"In my vision... I saw where the White Walkers live." He said, starting to recall.

Jon and Meera leaned in closer to him.

"It was snowing, and dark, with shimmering green lights in the sky above. It was an entire castle made of ice. Inside it was a single Weirwood tree being preserved. I think the White Walkers get their magic from the trees. The only problem I have is not knowing how many trees we would need to destroy before the White Walkers would die for good - assuming the vision I had was accurate." He told them.

"If we have to destroy every last Weirwood in Westeros... seven hells. Do you know how many Weirwoods there are in Westeros?" Jon said, baffled at the number of Weirwoods there were in existence.

"I know... it would be hard. And destroying the Weirwoods beyond the wall would be even harder." He replied.

There was a moment of silence between everyone.

"Is there anything else you saw?" Jon asked.

"Nothing worth sharing, unfortunately." He answered.

Jon turned to Meera and asked "Can you give us a moment?"

Meera stood up and exited the room, leaving just him and Jon inside.

Jon smiled at him saying "I was worried about you before. I'm glad you're alright - I couldn't have forgiven myself if I had hurt you somehow by taking you down into those crypts."

"To be fair, I was pushed out of a tower - and that didn't stop me. As if I'd let some odd thousand year old tree get the better of me." He said jokingly.

Jon looked at him and laughed a little saying "Well, then I'd just have to bring you back from the dead as well."

They smiled at each other for a few short moments. "It's been a while since we've just gotten to talk. As siblings." He mentioned.

He knew Jon being a Targaryen didn't make them siblings anymore, but he didn't care. He was still his brother, if only not bound by blood.

"Aye. Things have just gotten so... chaotic lately, we haven't really gotten a chance to spend time together. If we manage to stop what's coming, I'll make sure we do that more often. I'm sure Ygritte would love listening to all the stories you'd have to tell too." Jon said empathetic.

"I thought there was something between you two." He said a little teasingly.

Jon gave a small chuckle and said "Right, yes - it's quite a long story..."

He didn't take him for the romantic type, he was more like father with his sense of duty.

"I'm happy for you, really." He told him sincerely

"Thank you." Jon said with a grin.

They paused in conversation for a moment.

"Hey, Jon?"

Jon looked up at him, having caught his attention. He felt his face turning red from what he was going to say

"I wanted to tell you something - ask advice really..."

"Anything." Jon assured.

"Promise not to judge me?" He asked worried.

"I'll try." Jon said teasingly back. He immediately regretted teasing him about Ygritte now.

"I... have a- a... thing - for m..." His lips ceased all function as if he'd just been paralyzed again. _"Gods, it's just Jon - it's not even her."_ He thought to himself.

It seemed Jon had already known who he meant though before he stopped talking, as he had begun smiling.

"Gods, sometimes it's easy to forget you're just a kid sometimes." Jon said smiling.

"You said you wouldn't judge." He said accusingly, however with his face still red it would be hard for anyone to take him seriously.

"I wouldn't worry, Bran - I think she feels the same way about you." Jon affirmed.

"How do you know?" He asked curious. It would definitely give him some comfort if Jon knew something he didn't.

"For starters she still keeps a watchful eye over you even though you're safe here, and you two have been traveling alone together for some time, and she offers to take care of you as if anybody else would screw it up. She was even here while the maester was looking over your hand, regardless of how much he insisted that he be alone while working on you."

 _"Seven hells, am I really just dimwitted?"_ The way Jon had put it made it seem like that was the case.

"But, what if she thinks I'm too young? Or wouldn't like me because of my legs?" He asked nervously.

"Then she doesn't deserve you." Jon said simply. "But don't worry, I think she'll feel the same way."

Jon's confidence made him smile a little. He hoped she would feel the same way.

Coincidentally, Meera came in carrying two plates in her hands announcing "If you two are done talking, I got us breakfast. I would've gotten you some too, Jon - but I didn't know what you'd like."

He suddenly found himself praying that she heard none of their conversation before.

"That's alright, we were just catching up on old times. I'll leave you two alone." Jon replied as he rose up from his bedside and walked out.

Meera walked over to him and gave him a plate with a soft boiled egg that had been resting atop a buttered slice of toast surrounded by four strips of bacon, accompanied by a wedge of cheese. It was certainly a breakfast fit for a lord. He could recall his mother enjoying this for breakfast, and it brought him some small comfort knowing the chefs still cooked it.

"This looks wonderful, thank you." He said graciously.

"You're welcome." She replied as she sat down and dug into the food from her plate. He struggled to contain a laugh at how quickly she ate. It seemed being in Winterfell hadn't made her change her table manners. Lords and Ladies were always so courteous in how they ate.

When she paused during a bite, she asked him "So, what did you talk about?"

He was lifting up a slice of bacon and nearly dropped the whole plate when he heard what she asked, but he immediately recovered and tried to act like the question didn't phase him.

"J-just sibling stuff. Asking what it was like for him at The Wall all that time - how many Wildlings he'd killed, you wouldn't find it interesting." He answered attempting to sound truthful.

* * *

Jil Snow

* * *

Knowing Sansa was with Littlefinger only made her more worried. She knew he had a reputation for scheming, which meant she'd have to try twice as hard to get her away from him. During her time in the Riverlands, she was able to track most of the Lannister patrol paths. It was going to be narrow for sure - but if things got bad, the army they had was more than enough to handle any patrol they came across. There was only a small number of Lannister guards that did patrols, and the largest camp they had was Riverrun. After she had been leading them for some time, it seemed it was time for a break. The horses certainly seemed like they needed one, and the soldiers that had to walk even more so.

She turned back and asked the carriage driver "Can I speak to Sansa?"

The carriage driver opened a window into the cart and whispered something inside. Afterward the carriage driver nodded. She slowed down her horse until she was next to the carriage window.

"We need to stop for a little while. The horses are tired, and they won't travel well if we continue like this." She suggested.

Sansa looked to Littlefinger for a moment, almost as if needing confirmation. She hated that look. She began to worry Sansa may become his pawn. Sansa was always the most naive of Arya's siblings.

Afterward, Sansa replied "I agree. We'll rest for a few hours- but no longer. With Cersei's loyalists around every corner, I fear many would gladly sell our presence to her for the right price."

She was glad she listened. She hoped she could get her alone during the break, show her the face she would recognize. The driver began shouting commands to the soldiers around them about the stop - and they all quickly slowed down until they were at rest. She watched as Sansa and Littlefinger climbed out of their carriage, keeping an eye on Baelish especially.

Jaime rode up and asked "are we stopping here?"

Sansa nodded saying "Yes, I believe the horses have earned a rest. And they will work much better after a short break."

"My soldiers and I took Riverrun not long before I arrived back at King's Landing to find the Sept on fire. Since Walder Frey is dead, I'm sure no one will mind if we stroll on inside. And I for one wouldn't like to be the guy caught out in the open if Cersei's men found us." Jaime mentioned.

"I agree with the Kingslayer, he knows as well as I that Riverrun is a fortress. If we are caught, it would be very defensible." Littlefinger added.

"Suddenly, I'm now less inclined to go there since you said it." Sansa said suspiciously toward Petyr.

"I've gotten us this far haven't I?" Littlefinger said.

She wanted to say something, but even she didn't know what to say. Jaime suggested it in the first place, yet Baelish supported it. It wasn't as if it'd matter though - they only just met Jil, and she hadn't gained their trust yet.

"Fine... we'll go to Riverrun." Sansa decided.

"Riverrun is only a few miles further from here, we'll be there before sundown." Jaime informed.

It was a tough call either way, but she just had to trust her this time.

* * *

Daenerys

* * *

The mix of Unsullied and Dothraki she brought with her was more than a formidable force, but the ships were their wildcard. Hopefully there would still be time to save them. The sun was going down soon, and cast orange rays through the trees. She looked to Theon as the rode. He seemed brave, willing to face whatever he had to. Her dragons were flying low, just over the forest. Surely the ships would see them coming - however that threat would likely be more than enough. As they emerged from the snow covered forest, the ships were sailing Greyjoy flags and one of the ships beached itself on the shore with a trail of broken ice along the shore, and the bow pointed toward her. It seemed stupid to beach one of their own captured ships, yet there it was. And Euron Greyjoy walked to the end of the ship and stared down at her.

"Daenerys Targaryen!" He shouted from atop the bow with a grin. A bunch of Greyjoy soldiers stood next to him with swords and crossbows.

She got off from her horse and the Unsullied got around her in a circle, protecting her in case of any hostilities. He seemed far too proud of himself, like he was untouchable.

"What have you done with my people?" She asked firmly.

"What people?" Euron asked mockingly.

"Fail to answer my questions one more time, and it won't be me you have to be afraid of." She threatened.

Rhaegal seemed to understand the tension in the area, and landed in front of her and the Unsullied. The beach wasn't all that large, and when Rhaegal landed - he was more than close enough to grab and eat Euron if he so desired. However the Greyjoys didn't seem all too afraid by the dragon.

"Alright. When we took your ships, there were... some casualties. However most of your people are being held locked away on these here ships. But I don't think you quite understand yet, 'Dragon Queen' - If you keep waving your little army around we'll happily turn these ships around, sail back home, and kill all of the prisoners we took from you. Or better yet, I'll force them to join me." Euron said confidently.

"You think you will get very far? I merely have to say one word, and my dragons will tear you limb from limb." She said fiercely.

Euron gave a wicked smirk and looked back at his crew mates, they started walking around on the ship as if he just told them something through his body language. She watched as Euron looked back, and Rhaegal was breathing down upon Euron with saliva dripping down his mouth. The other two dragons were circling above the beached ship, making a screech every so often.

"And risk my crewman killing all of the hostages we have on board? I doubt you would. Besides, I'm afraid your dragons won't be doing anything, Your grace." Euron stated.

Before she could reply, a loud horn rumbled from the deck of a nearby ship - and Rhaegal began screeching and backing away. The sound was deafening, and made her feel as if her bones were being set on fire from inside. The Dothraki even seemed to feel it too, and even the Greyjoys seemed to be in pain - but not Euron. She then watched helplessly as Viserion and Drogon started flying away from them. Finally, the horn stopped rumbling.

"What have you done to them!?" She asked as she walked over to Rhaegal - ignoring her own sense of pain to see if he was okay.

"Have you not heard? I would have figured you of all people would know. That horn is Dragonbinder, from the days long past before the doom of Valyria."

Rhaegal looked weak, and his scales on his back had small amounts of blood being squeezed out between them. The hoards began yelling at him in Dothraki.

"Acchakat! (Silence)" She shouted, to regain control of the situation.

She looked at Theon for a moment - who seemed to have lost a lot of the bravery he had earlier, and was mumbling something. She turned back to Euron.

"What do you want from me?" She asked.

"That's more like it." Euron began. "I'm not unreasonable, you don't want to be left with no choice. I will give you three options. One: Leave Westeros, I will leave you some of your ships, and you can have your people make trips until you are all off my land."

"I didn't come this far just to turn back, nor will I." She stated tensely.

The Dothraki cheered fiercely with bloodlust and an urge to fight.

"That's alright, option two: Support my claim to the Iron Throne. Break off your alliance with the Northern Bastard, and I will set your people free. They will help us take the Iron Throne from underneath Cersei, and you will stay submissive to me. Of course - Theon and Yara may never return to Pyke again."

Theon looked a little worried hearing the mention of Yara's name. Hearing it herself, he seemed to imply he didn't kill Yara.

"And option three: You can try and do something stupid, like attack us and try to free them by force - but you've already seen what Dragonbinder can do. If I wanted, I could turn your own dragons against you and have them kill you all. So tell me, Daenerys Stormborn - which will it be?"

She looked at Rhaegal, who didn't seem to have the strength for a fight. It was as if the horn drained all of if energy from his body. She then looked to Theon. He didn't seem to have any expression anymore, as if in deep thought.

She was about to respond, but Theon shouted "No!"

Euron looked toward Theon and gave a small chuckle. "Well look at that. Theon - my dear nephew, did you happen to grow a new set of balls? I can admire that, but I don't admire stupidity. Now I sug-"

Theon shouted "I have not known Daenerys for long! But in the short time that I have, I've learned what she stands for. She lost everything dear to her! Her family, her house, her fortunes... but she got all of it again, and more! We are Ironborn, we do not listen to the Kings and Queens of Westeros, from what I remember Euron, our House words are 'We do not sow!' Yet you knelt before the Lannisters haven't you?"

Theon then pointed to a Lannister flag underneath the Greyjoy one.

"But Daenerys is not from Westeros, she sailed here to change everything for the better! She doesn't want to rule the Ironborn, she wants to save us! And I'd rather die than see her have to kneel to you! And any true Ironborn, will... w-will..." Theon started trailing off strangely.

"Today, perhaps!?" Euron yelled down.

Theon looked North along the shore in the distance silently. She turned her head to see what he was looking at, and there was a cloudy storm, dark as night with snow raining down. And the ocean began to freeze into ice as it was approaching a few miles off. And was moving quickly. Everyone watched silently as it began approaching.

As it grew closer, she was able to make out a tall man who's skin was glowing blue, and eyes even brighter - with a crown of horns atop his head.

"We need to leave..." She said quietly, remembering Jon's warnings.

"We need to leave!" She shouted to her army.

They all seemed to understand, but when she looked back toward the forest, there were Greyjoys in the treeline. It seemed they had already prepared to kill her if she didn't agree to his terms. If they tried to go into the forest, the Greyjoys could take it as an act of aggression - since she never said yes to his demands. There was no way out of this without bloodshed.

An Unsullied captain asked "Your grace, where do we go?"

Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew toward them, and the oceans froze to solid ice near the shore, causing some of the ships to get lodged in place.

"To the sea." She stated.

"But your grace, the ships!" The Unsullied said.

"We kill them and take back our ships. if we stay here, we die." Daenerys commanded.

* * *

Theon

* * *

He couldn't hear what Daenerys was saying, until suddenly the Unsullied captain yelled something in Valyrian - and everyone started charging toward the ocean. His horse began to panic, and threw him off and into the sand. The Dothraki army started following soon after. He scrambled to get up on his feet as the Dothraki began shoving him back and forth while running to the sea. He could barely see any thing through the crowd of people, but he saw Euron Greyjoy jump off his beached ship and ride a rope down. His Ironborn crew fought the Unsullied, giving him as much time as they could holding their army off.

"Someone, anyone!?" He shouted.

A Dothraki slowed down and reached out his arm.

He grabbed on to him, and the Dothraki pulled him up on to his horse. He seemed to have been one of the few Dothraki to actually have a horse, most everyone was running on foot. When he was on, he was able to see a lot more now. He saw Rhaegal crawling forward on his wings eating some of the Ironborn that got in their way. If what Euron implied was true, than Yara would still be alive on one of their ships. If she was still alive, he had to find her. He turned his head back and saw the large mass of Ironborn forces charging toward them. However he was much less worried about them, and further worried about the strange figures that were causing the ice in the first place.

Among the ships that were stuck in the ice, he looked around while hanging on to the Dothraki rider trying to find the ship he left Yara on. He recalled it had Targaryen sails. However, it soon became apparent there were more immediate issues - as the ice underneath them broke, and the horse fell in. Both him and the Dothraki rider fell off, and he watched perilously as the Dothraki rider plunged into the water. He quickly scramble back away from the weak ice and stood himself up as best he could, but the ice was slippery - and he could only move so fast. He looked around him and finally spotted the ship he left Yara in. Only it was full of Ironborn crewmen, and unfortunately not their own. He spun himself back around and saw Daenerys on top of Rhaegal, carefully guiding him to one of the ships. Most of the Dothraki and Unsullied kept Euron's army from attacking them, attacking any who got too close.

He stumbled along the ice as quickly as he could to get to Daenerys. Taking a quick look back, it seemed the Greyjoys that were in the forest were no longer charging, but were instead fighting something else. Soon enough, he was near Daenerys and her dragon.

"Make way! I need to tell her something!" He shouted pushing past the Unsullied shielding her and her dragon. It was impossible to protect Rhaegal entirely due to his size,

They were a little hesitant, but did as he commanded since he was their ally.

"Your grace!" He shouted to Daenerys.

Daenerys looked back at him saying "Speak quickly Theon, we need to get these ships unstuck!"

"My sister, she's on that ship over there! We have to rescue her!" He shouted.

When he pointed to it, it seemed the strange blue figures were almost upon the ship.

Daenerys looked to where he pointed and went quiet for a moment.

"Please your grace, we wouldn't even-"

She then shouted something in Dothraki, then spoke to him saying "Take them, save her if you can."

"Thank you!" He shouted gratefully.

He ran toward the ship, and the large amounts of Dothraki followed him. As they approached the ship, the ice got surprisingly thicker - and less slippery. He wondered if proximity to the strange creatures was what kept the from under them breaking. It was a miracle Rhaegal's weight didn't shatter the ice already. Once they got to Yara's ship, the Dothraki started climbing on board. He wasn't as good with a sword as he was a bow, but he had to manage if he wanted to save her. He climbed on board with the Dothraki and there was the sounds of clashing blades from all around, it was disorienting. He hoped Euron hadn't moved her, otherwise this would all be for nothing.

An Ironborn soldier broke his train of thought when he shoved him to the floor. He turned his head to see him standing over him. The Ironborn raised his sword to slam it down on him, but he quickly rolled out of the way and got to his feet. He turned around to face him and blocked his next attacking with the blade of his sword. The Crewman swung furiously toward him causing him to lose much of his strength, but before the crewman could finish him off - he grabbed the man and shoved him overboard. He ran over to the railing from where he was thrown and saw his bones shatter as he hit the hard and frozen ice. He shuddered from the sight, and backed away. As he looked around the deck of the ship, there seemed to be no more of Euron's Greyjoys on board.

He quickly opened the hatch leading into the cargo hold and ran down inside. He saw a few Martell spearmen, and some of their own Greyjoy crewman bound by ropes. He ran over to one of the Martell soldiers and unbound him. The Soldier thanked him graciously and he began unbinding the others. He continued searching through the hold and came across Yara, in blood-soaked armor.

"Yara! Thank the gods!" He shouted.

"Theon! What's going on out there? Did the army arrive in time?" Yara questioned.

"We need to leave, there's something coming!" He said as he cut her restraints with his sword.

Yara stood up and said "You won't get any argument from me."

Together they started running to the exit. The Martell he freed earlier threw each prisoner a sword from a sword rack that was kept inside there. Yara caught one and they ran up the stairs to the top deck. He assumed it would be safe, but he was horrified to see the Dothraki fighting again, but now they were fighting the same Ironborn crew they killed earlier, now with glowing blue eyes.

"Seven hells!" Yara shouted.

He watched as a Dothraki slammed his Arakh into one of them, and the undead man only used that as leverage to pull him in closer, and choke the life out of him. He turned his attention to another, and saw the same man he threw overboard with an arm bent out of place and glowing blue eyes staring at him. He felt as if he had been paralyzed. He felt the man was almost speaking to him, but he heard no words.

However he was broken from his trance when Yara threw a lit lantern on to the man and burned him alive. He blinked very quickly and Yara grabbed his face and yelled "Look at me! Let's go!"

He nodded and she took him by his left hand, and lead them over to the port side railing. Together they started climbing off of the ship and back on to the ice. Yara grabbed his wrist and began leading them back to Daenerys' flagship. He still had no idea how they were going to get away, until he saw Rhaegal breathe fire on to the ice in front of Daenerys' flagship, melting it. The harsh wind from the coming blizzard immediately started pushing her ship forward.

"Move Theon, we can make it!" Yara yelled as she let go of his hand.

He did as she said and ran next to her as quickly as he could. He heard screeching come from the sky and looked up to see Drogon and Viserion had returned. They seemed to have recovered much quicker having flown away from the sound earlier. He turned his attention back to the forest while he ran, and saw Euron's Greyjoy ambush force had been completely decimated - and now it was the undead. Soon enough, they were almost at her flagship.

"Daenerys! Your grace!" He shouted at the ship.

An Unsullied noticed them and they all started moving quickly. Rhaegal sat on the bow of the ship continuing to breathe fire on the ice in front of the ship. After what felt like hours from the adrenaline, they threw a long rope off the side of the ship.

An Unsullied yelled "Grab! We pull you!"

The rope dragged along the ice as the ship kept sailing forward. It was long in length, and dragged quite far. Yara being the closest, made a dive toward the rope and grabbed on to it - and it dragged her along the ice as the ship sailed

"Come on Theon! You can make it!" He heard Yara yell to him.

He tried to keep up, but as they were further from the undead creatures, the ice was no longer as thick, and was getting slippery. He tried to keep up, but he heard the ice crack and his legs fell in. He gripped on to the sides of the hole in the ice.

"Theon!" Yara called out to him.

"Go! Don't stop!" He yelled back to her. The rope was way too far now, and Yara was in water now - just barely clinging on to the rope as the Unsullied pulled her up.

He pulled himself out of the water and saw Drogon and Viserion freeing other ships the Dothraki and Unsullied had climbed on too by melting the ice, but they were too far away for him to reach in time. He looked back at the undead army that was chasing after them. He instead ran as quickly as he could toward the shore. He saw bodies of Ironborn and Dothraki littering the ice as he ran past them. He kept an eye on the undead army as they moved toward him while he stumbled across the ice. After what felt like an eternity, he made it into the tree line and tread quickly through the snow and trees. It was completely dark by this point, and the sun no longer gave any light.

The Narrow Sea was behind him, which meant East was that way - and the undead came from the North. So he ran as far to the south and the west as much as he could, hoping to come across a way back to Winterfell. But there was no road he could follow. Eventually, he couldn't hear the undead - he couldn't hear anything. Just the sound of his feet pushing through the snow.

He had never felt so alone in his life.

* * *

 _ **Author's note: Sorry if you got this update twice, I deleted the chapter and updated a few misspellings that occurred.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed.**_


	21. Chapter 21: Winter is here

Daenerys

* * *

They sailed far down south, and had no encounters of Euron's fleet since the White Walker attack. Rhaegal seemed tired. He rested his head next to her on the deck, and she sat down on the ship's railing petting him, and calming him.

"My poor child..." She said quietly.

The Unsullied captain that commanded her forces earlier came up to her and said "My Queen, the last ship to have escaped just reported in."

"How much of our army did we lose?" She asked.

"No more than we saved. Had we managed to save them all, we would be an extra three thousand strong, and thirty more ships." The captain replied.

She paused for a moment, and continued petting Rhaegal.

"And how is Yara Greyjoy?" She asked concerned.

"She seems a little distraught, your grace. I recommend you go talk to her soon." The Unsullied replied.

"And how about Euron Greyjoy?" She asked in a tone almost not wanting to know the answer.

"He did manage to escape with a few of our ships, and there were likely hostages still on them." The Unsullied answered.

"Do we have any ravens we can send to Jon Snow? We'll need to inform him of how close the White Walkers are getting." She asked.

"I'm afraid not, your grace - ravens aren't trained to fly from ships to castles. Would you like to send someone to deliver a message by hand?" He asked.

"Please." She asked kindly.

"I will at once, your grace." The Unsullied replied.

The Unsullied turned to leave, but she stopped him - saying "Wait... what is your name?"

"Dirt Leech." The Unsullied replied.

She knew most of the Unsullied kept their former slave names, but the name still shocked her regardless. She couldn't believe how cruel their masters used to be.

"Dirt Leech... do you think I made the right decision?" She asked.

"It is not my place to judge you, your grace." He replied.

"I have no use for soldiers who blindly follow my authority. I want you to answer me honestly." She told him.

Dirt Leech paused for a moment, then said "Truthfully your grace, I don't think anyone would have expected you to make any other choice."

She looked up at him and asked "How so?"

"Your grace," he replied "I was one of the Unsullied in Astapor when you came to us. At first, we had no idea what you would have us do. But then you told us to kill our masters, so we did as you asked. We would have followed you blindly forever if that was what you wanted. We were bought, and we were sold. But then you told us we were free men. And asked us to follow you as such. And we did, there were no doubts. And each of us saw you care for the people you freed. When there were slaves being abused, you saved them. When we were attacked in Meereen, you did not abandon the people there - you stayed to stop them from going back into slavery. So when you learned of your ships full of people you promised to help, We all knew what choice you would make."

She smiled seeing his belief in her.

"Take off your helmet for me." She asked him.

He took it off immediately, without question. She hoped not to sounded as if to order him.

"Would you like to sit next to me?" She asked.

"If you wish for me to, your grace." He replied.

"I won't force you. If you would feel uncomfortable in doing so, then you shall not have to." She said calmly.

Dirt leech slowly sat down next to her.

"You can pet him with me, if you're not too afraid that is."

"Is that a good idea, your grace?" Dirt Leech asked slightly worried.

"He would not mind." She said comforting.

Dirt Leech slowly moved his hand until soon enough, he was petting him. Rhaegal closed his eyes in response, resting. He seemed to slowly be recovering his energy, but that horn really drained him.

"It is easy to put people whom you've never met in danger. Before these battles are all a part of history, I would like to speak to some of you. I'd speak to all if I only had the time. I'm going to take the time to get to know the people in my army, the ones that swore to die for me if need be." She stated.

"I think many Unsullied would be happy to hear that." Dirt Leech replied.

She continued to pet Rhaegal, looking into his eye.

* * *

Jon

* * *

Everything was dark, and quiet. He had no idea where he was until he saw a grave with the word "traitor" on it. He looked toward it, and then felt his gut in pain. He looked down and saw blood pouring out of him. He panicked and tried to stop it, but then more holes kept appearing - he kept trying to stop the bleeding until he woke up with sweat dripping down his forehead.

He looked down at his chest just to make sure, and he only saw the scars from when the Night's Watch had done that to him. His sleep had been constantly plagued with nightmares ever since he had died that first time.

"Hey... you alright?" He heard a voice say.

He turned his head and saw Ygritte's naked body pressed up against him. He smiled seeing her next to him.

"I'm fine... just a bad dream." He said before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Ugh, I fuckin' 'ate those. What was it about?" She asked, sounding slightly groggy.

He sighed and said "When I first joined the Night's Watch, I was prepared to die if I had to. You remember when Mance attacked the Wall? Just before Stannis arrived."

"Yeah?" She replied.

"While maester Aemon was looking over you, I went out there to go see him. I had nothing but a dagger strapped to my side, hidden by my cloak. I was going to kill him, and let the rest of the Free folk kill me. I was okay with dying... if it was going to serve a better purpose." He said faintly.

She sat up a little more and looked him in the eyes.

"But now... I've seen death, and it scared me more than anything. But the worst thing about it, was knowing I'd failed. I thought I'd failed everyone. And that was just when the Free folk depended on me. Now the whole North is depending on me..." He said with worry in his tone.

"No one would've chosen you t' be their leader if they thought you couldn't do it. An' you're not alone in this. Every one of us will stand behind you, no matter what it takes. We know what's up there, and we'll stop it. But the White Walkers aren't here yet - so let's enjoy the time while we still have it." She said moving closer to him.

He wanted nothing more than to never leave the bed, however the lords of the North were arriving today. It was nearly time to tell them they had to leave.

"Thank you, Ygritte. That means a lot. And as much as I'd love to stay here for the rest of the day, we'll have to go to the meeting soon. We'd better get dressed." He informed.

"Are you suuure?" She said wrapping her leg around him, holding him closer.

 _"Gods be damned!"_ He thought to himself.

He quickly got loose from her grip and said "No-no-no, if I stay here any longer - I won't be leaving this bed for the next three winters."

He climbed out of bed and She laughed at his reaction.

"Only three? I can do better than that." She teased.

"I'm sure you... wait- stop it!" He said snapping back.

She laughed again and said "As you wish, 'my lord'"

He went over to his wardrobe and put on a wool tunic underneath some leather strappings, similar to what he wore in the Night's Watch. He then put on double layered cotton pants - and went to grab his cloak, but stopped in his tracks looking at it. He noticed the Stark symbol on it, the one Sansa had made for him. He felt reminded of how he let Littlefinger get the better of him. He silently prayed that wherever she was, for the gods to watch over her.

* * *

Jil Snow

* * *

They had been traveling so long, the sun was beginning to set. It felt like the only thing that had changed recently, as she grew more and more annoyed by some bickering going on with Jaime.

"Much longer, and you'll owe me half of Westeros." One of Jaime's knights said mockingly.

"In case you didn't notice, there's about to be another war - how was I to see this coming? Besides, when this is all over - you'll get your castle." Jaime said defensively.

"And the wife, and the gold, and Jaime Lannister kissing my fuckin' boots. Have you actually got a castle you can give me anymore?" The knight said.

"There's Feastfires, a Castle just north west of Casterly Rock - it has no lord to keep it in shape, so-"

"Oh, so you mean I get a castle that's fallin' apart?" The knight said mockingly.

"Would the two of you please shut up already?" Jil said to both of them. "Look - there it is, how about you two find a room and keep bickering like siblings in there."

She knew better than anyone how that could be. Finally, they arrived at Riverrun. Jaime rode up to the front gate, in front of most everyone. He looked a little unsure, but seemed composed for the most part.

"Hey!" Jaime shouted to the castle.

A soldier in Lannister armor came up to the wall, and shouted back down "It's Ser Jaime! ... Well open the gate you lazy cunt!"

The drawbridge slowly lowered and Jaime looked back with a smile. She rolled her eyes at him and they all rode in. Most of the army had to tie their horses to fences, as Riverrun didn't have enough stables for them all. She got off her horse and scanned the surroundings around them. It worried her being inside a castle with an army primarily made up of Lannisters. She looked at Sansa come out of their carriage with Baelish. They all began to group together.

"The walls can be easily manned, and there's plenty of rooms for our people to sleep. We could do a lot worse than Riverrun." Jaime stated.

"Indeed. So, Jil - I believe? We've likely gotten past most of Cersei's forces by this point, how far are you intending on accompanying us?" Sansa questioned her.

 _"Not yet, think of something!"_ She thought to herself.

"I know someone in Winterfell. I've intended to go meet them for a while now, if you'd allow me to accompany you there - that is." She said.

"Very well. May I ask who?" Sansa asked.

"No one you'd know." She replied

"Well, you're tightly guarded aren't you?" Jaime stated.

"I haven't betrayed you yet, have I?" She said defending herself.

"No, which is why I'm that much more worried. We haven't even payed you anything, and you offered to help us find a route through Cersei's forces. And you somehow know Sansa." Jaime said accusingly.

Littlefinger simply watched their feud with a hint of a smile.

"Everyone in the North knows the Starks." She said deflecting the question.

"Not by face, not unless you've met. Tell me Sansa, do you recognize this woman?" Jaime asked.

Sansa studied her face when he said that and stated "No..."

"You'll have to forgive me madame, but a woman showing up from nowhere claiming to know Sansa Stark and not explaining how would make you more than a little bit suspicious. And if I'm putting my neck on the line traveling North to make an alliance on shaky ground, I'm going to need you all to be completely honest with me." Jaime said with irritation in his tone.

"Then don't take me, I can get to Winterfell on my own." She said defensively.

"So why don't you?" Jaime said.

"Ser Jaime, she lead us here without any form of payment. We owe her at least to get her to where she needs to go in return." Sansa said.

She had no idea why she had decided to defend her, but it made things a lot easier.

"Fine... I'm going to go settle what few horses we have in the stables before it gets dark." Jaime said.

"I'll go pitch up a tent somewhere nearby." She added.

"There's plenty of rooms in the castle, you could have one if you wanted." Sansa offered.

"Thanks... but I'll be fine." She told her.

She then walked out of the castle. The army Jaime and Sansa brought was certainly sufficient, they could lay siege to a small city if they wanted. But probably not King's Landing. Inside the army's encampment, she picked up a traveling pack equipped with a tent, and then made her way across a river to set up the tent right where the Whispering Wood forest started. After spending an hour of time on it, she finally got it set up. It was dark by then, and she couldn't wait to get inside. Before stepping in, she took one last look around the surrounding area of her campsite. She was all alone here, except for Riverrun being in plain sight. Afterward she went inside the tent. It was small, not like the larger tents the Lannister army used - but she didn't need one of their big ones, and it would've taken much too long to set up.

She laid down on the bedroll inside, and pulled her face off. She had been Jil for far too long. Being Jil Snow however was still much smarter than letting Baelish believe Arya Stark was still alive. She hated how he had Sansa under his thumb. Sansa would never admit she was being played, but she knew better. She shut her eyes to rest for the long journey ahead.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

Being surrounded by the amount of Lannister soldiers made her uneasy. She felt at any moment they could betray her, that Cersei could've ordered them to play along. A shiver went down her back, and she walked through the corridors of the castle with Petyr.

"It has been some time since I was last here. I was maybe... fourteen? A lot of memories I shared here with your mother and Lysa." He said.

"I came here once as a little girl visiting grandfather Hoster. Feels like a lifetime ago." She mourned.

"Aye... and this castle will outlive us all." Petyr stated.

She stopped at the door leading to the Lord's hall.

Jaime came running up to them from behind and shouted "Hang on a moment!"

She jumped at his voice and turned back to face him.

"Gods... what is it?" She said anxiously.

"Nothing, it's just... well... when I took this castle, I gave it to someone- someone you know, and... w- it may come as a bit of a shock to you. I imagine he'll probably be inside... I think." Jaime said with a slight sound of nervous laughter.

"Who is inside?" She asked him worried.

"Well you see, I'm not sure he's actually here so I don't want to get your hopes up... but someone has to be running this castle." Jaime said, seemingly afraid of something.

Petyr seemed to pick up on it and said "You seem nervous, Kingslayer - is there something you're hiding?"

"In case you don't recall, Walder Frey was murdered by someone - and this castle belonged to Walder Frey after I left it here, and whoever killed him probably still wants to kill everyone who had any involvement in the Red Wedding - and my army is half Frey. So the killer may have come to this castle looking to kill even more Freys." Jaime confessed.

"I see. Well, there's no point in waiting any longer so why don't we head inside and see who's here?" Petyr said.

She didn't share his concern since the unknown person killed Walder Frey, but she did want to see who she knew could've been inside. Petyr opened the doors and the three of them walked inside, and Edmure was inside with some servants around him. Edmure turned his head upon seeing them, and jumped back a little in his seat.

"Uncle? Uncle Edmure?" She said in some disbelief.

"Sansa? Is that really you?" Edmure said.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you send a raven telling me you were alive!" She said while walking up to the Lord's table.

"I was imprisoned, I only got out recently." He explained.

Edmure got up from his seat and she hugged him. She noticed Jaime smiling a little while watching them in her peripheral.

After she let go, Jaime said "I'm a little surprised you're here. How did you get out? Last time I was with Walder Frey, he said he had you locked up again."

"No thanks to you, I might add. You promised you'd let me live happily with my wife and child!" Edmure said angrily.

"Sorry about that." Jaime said with a hint of sarcasm.

"'Sorry!?'" Edmure said hysterically.

"I think that's enough. Jaime has not come to do anything worse to you. We simply need to stay here for a while." Petyr said, trying to calm down the situation.

"What happened at your wedding? I thought you would've been killed." She said sadly.

"No such luck... Walder kept me prisoner, thought I'd be useful - spat horse shit about how 'killing me, would give the family a bad name.' He kept me in there for... gods, I lost count of the days of how long I'd been in there." Edmure said.

"That still begs the question, how did you get out?" Jaime asked.

"I... don't know all the details. One night I woke up in my cell, and there was a key chain inside with me. I unlocked my cell, and found Walder dead. After that, I rushed back here and tried to stay hidden. I lied to your soldiers that I was to live here now - that you kept your promise." He said bitterly.

"So it wasn't you that killed him?" Jaime asked curious.

"No.. but whoever did - good riddance." Edmure answered.

"Then that means I can't let my guard down yet." Jaime narrated to himself.

"Sansa, why are you here with Jaime? Are you still captive to the Lannisters?" Edmure asked.

"Uncle, who do you think rules the Seven Kingdoms?" She asked.

"King Joffrey, right?" Edmure said unsure.

She felt sorry for him. He really knew nothing of the world outside his cells.

"We'll have a lot to catch you up on. But right now, Cersei is ruler - I'm going to try and save her from herself." Jaime said.

Edmure looked a little shocked, and she said "Uncle, we need to stay here for a day or two. Can you please let us? I promise Jaime won't do anything to harm you... right?"

She stared down Jaime and he replied with "Of course."

Edmure swallowed deeply before saying "Fine... you can stay. If you'd like Sansa, you can stay here as long as you wish. But I expect Jaime to be here no longer than two days."

"That's do-able." Jaime agreed.

"Uncle Edmure, my brother Jon reclaimed Winterfell from the Boltons after they took it, and Great Uncle, Brynden is there too. Why don't you come with us?" She offered.

"No!- I-I mean... Sansa, I love you and all your family, but I can't." Edmure said sounding afraid.

"Why not? There's nothing stopping you!" She exclaimed.

"Because I'm afraid!" Edmure admitted. "I fought for Robb, it landed me imprisoned for longer than I can remember... I don't want to fight anymore- and what I did to Brynden... he'd never forgive me."

"Forgive you for what?" She questioned.

"You don't know...?" He asked quietly.

"I had to use Edmure to make the Blackfish's army surrender peacefully. If not for him, hundreds or thousands could've died. I wouldn't stay mad at him for long." Jaime explained.

She suddenly remembered she was in the company of a Lannister. She clenched her teeth a little from Jaime's admission.

"Edmure, you're my family. You're Brynden's family too. He _would_ forgive you if you came with us." She pleaded.

"I'm... sorry, Sansa... I'm a coward. I know I am. But I'm done fighting... no more."

It felt like she had just been stabbed. How could he abandon her? After everything Robb did for them, he'd let it all go to waste and give up.

"I'll be in my chambers." Edmure stated with haste as he quickly walked out of the Lord's hall.

She went to follow him, but Petyr extended his arm out in front of her, saying "Let him go. Either he'll come to his senses, or stay in there. But he won't listen to you - not now at least. You've given him something to think about."

She sighed and said "Fine... I'll leave him be."

"I'm sorry, Sansa." Jaime started. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but-"

"No. It's not. And if it weren't for you and your family, I'd still have Robb, and mother, and him." She said coldly.

Jaime reached out to her with his good hand, however she pushed past him and went to go find a room to stay in. She didn't want to hear his apologies. They mean nothing when your actions always go against them.

* * *

Tyrion

* * *

Inside the Great hall, all the lords were gathered. Bran had a seat next to Jon on his left and Davos left of Bran, and he was sat on Jon's right. Every last house in the North had a seat there. Strangely however, the only great house to attend was Manderly. However the smaller ones were still plentiful, like House Ryswell, and Forrester. There was talk going all sorts of ways. He hoped they would be able to accept what he had to tell them.

"May I have your attention, please." Jon said.

The lords started quieting down.

Jon stood up and said "My lords and ladies, The Wall has been overrun. Winter is here, and the dead are coming. The Wall was our best bet for defeating the White Walkers, but we cannot quit now. I'm afraid House Umber, and Karstark may already be lost. I sent letters to all the houses of the North. I'm afraid, we can't defend it any longer."

Everyone went silent.

"We need to stop them from coming further South, but we can't do it unless we organize better. We need to formulate a new wall." Jon told them.

"But how will we form another wall with the undead coming? We can't just make another that quickly!" Lord Manderly said.

"I'm afraid we'll never have another Wall as good as the one we had. But we can't throw our swords down and quit now. The Neck is where we'll have to make a new one."

The Lords began booing in response. He was surprised they were so quick to turn on Jon.

"You expect me to just leave my house? My family has lived here for generations!" Lord Cerwyn said.

Lord Hornwood shouted "Aye, we should stay here and beat those bastards back! We don't leave our home!"

Howland Reed stood up and said "I think you're a good king Jon Snow, but you're asking everyone to leave their homes so the dead can take them."

Tormund got up and said "We lost our homes long ago to the undead. If you all think you can beat them without losing anything, you're all fools."

The rest of the Free Folk made sounds of approval with Tormund.

After everyone was done saying their piece, he took a deep breath and looked at all the lords in front of him. He stood up from his table and walked down to the middle of the room.

"We need to fight back. We need to, but we can't do it until we can defend our own borders. This affects me too. I don't want to leave, but this isn't about what we want. This is about survival. The Starks have lived here for a thousand years, and they never gave up this home. But back then we had a wall, and now we don't so there's nothing stopping them from coming and killing us one by one." Jon told them.

"So what about the Targaryen? Tell her to come back and use her dragons against the undead!" Lyanna Mormont said.

"I saw the Night King. Dragons won't stop them. Fire extinguishes around them, and his army is too large for only three dragons to kill them all. It would be slaughter." Bran told them.

"Besides... she's in her own war now. Cersei Lannister rules the seven kingdoms, and she has no intention of letting Daenerys take it from her. Which is where we'll have to come in." Jon said.

"And what about Sansa?" Brienne added.

"What about her?" Jon asked.

"She's your sister! You act like she's gone for good, but she's out there somewhere. And if everyone's going south anyway, we should find her." Brienne argued

Jon paused for a moment and asked "Where would we look? Now that Lord Baelish has her, she could be anywhere."

"The Eyrie is a good start, and that's quite close to The Neck." Brienne said.

He knew if she was at the Eyrie that it would be hard to siege, it had its reputation for being impenetrable.

"If we're going to look for Sansa, we're going to have to look in more places than that." Jon stated.

Beric Dondarrion stood up and said "The brotherhood without banners is used to travelling in small group - And we know the Riverlands well. We can search there, and try to find her."

"Do you even know what she looks like?" Jon asked.

"The Lord of Light will show us, you don't have to worry about that." Beric said.

"Alright. My lords, have we reached an agreement?" Jon asked, looking around him.

All the lords were silent, indicating they still didn't want to leave. He looked down at the floor beneath him.

 _"Dammit, he's losing them."_ He thought to himself.

He hopped off his chair and walked in front of the Lord's table.

 _"Here goes everything."_ He thought.

"When I was a young man, I had never been this far north. All I used to think was 'How do they tolerate such weather?' And 'Why do all their drinks taste like goat piss?' I never knew the northerners, and I didn't care. They can enjoy winter all they like, I'll just keep sipping my wine down here where it's warm." He said looking at the lords around him.

He walked further down toward Jon continuing "But then, King Robert was coming to visit Ned Stark with my sister. So I thought 'Oh what the hell, let's go see how they live.' And so I came right here, to Winterfell, and saw a family who was quiet, and didn't like outsiders. I took it as anti-socialism. But what I mistook it for, was actually a deep care toward their family."

He then stood next to Jon and said "They weren't callous because they were bitter northerners, they were only protective of their family. I remember seeing the way Catelyn Stark was around her children. She loved them with all her heart, she would've done anything - died for them if need be, to ensure their safety. And that's what you are. Many of you here have children, and I don't think I'd be mistaken to presume you'd do the same for them."

He then paced back and forth saying "When I was first born, if you'd have met my father - you would've thought my birth signaled the end of the world. He hated me, treated me as an outsider, and I tried desperately to gain his affection - but to no avail. When he saw that I was a dwarf, that was when his love for me was over. But That's not how Ned Stark was. He had a bastard born child, yet he never stopped loving him. He could've left him where he was born, have him raised without a father, never show him what it's like to be loved. But that wasn't his way. When I heard of the things he did for his children, I thought to myself 'Why couldn't I have a Northern father? A father whom would love me, despite my size?' No such luck it seemed.

Jon watched him, seemingly shocked at the things he was saying. He continued "And in the last few years, I've been all over the world and back again. I went to The Wall and pissed of the edge, I went to the Vale and nearly got thrown out the moon door, I lived in Casterly Rock during most of my childhood - and met the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms in King's Landing. I visited the rich city of Pentos, walked the crowded streets of Volantis, sailed through the smoking sea of Valyria - and ruled over Meereen. And out of all of the places I've been to, and the people I've met, I've never seen anyone treat family as important as the Northerners do."

He stepped back up to the Lord's table and said "And strangely enough, I feel I've had more of a family with the Starks than I ever have had with my own. I protected Sansa whenever I could from Joffrey's cruelty, and Jon Snow has shown me kindness I never would've expected. I felt joy when I made that saddle for Bran to ride when I watched his eyes light up at the mention, and mourned upon Robb Stark's death at the hands of Roose Bolton. It is this love for family that I admire about you all. But if we stay here, in the North, then all the families will die. Jon Snow is right when he says the dead are coming, and if we don't get south - we all will die. And the children left behind when we die, will likely suffer the same fate."

He walked up to Jon and looked him in the eyes as he spoke saying "Jon shows that same care for all of you here, now. And I know he wouldn't ask this of you if there was any other way. So if not for your own lives, do it for your children's - and for your unborn children's. And if we're to stop the undead from taking our families, than we must work together. And my queen Daenerys stands beside him, and so do I. And any true northerners will stand by him now."

Jon's mouth hung open looking toward him, just like when they had named him King in the North. He walked back to the Lord's table and sat back down. He studied all the lords in the hall, watching their reactions.

Lyanna Mormont stood up and said "We know no king, but the King in the North who's name is Stark. You're my king, from this day until my last. I said those words in this very hall only a few days after we took back Winterfell, and I meant them. You'll always be my King in the North, even if we go south. I'll be by your side, now and always."

Jon continued to have that look of disbelief, and he nodded.

Lord Manderly stood up and said "Jon Snow avenged the Red Wedding, he killed Ramsay Bolton, and has proven himself to be the king we need. I stand behind you Jon Snow, winter is here - and we'll need to stick together if we want to survive it."

Howland Reed rose to his feet, and said "I remember fighting beside Ned Stark. He was the most honorable man I had met in my lifetime. I never knew any man like him... now I know two. I will fight for my daughter's safety, even if that means we leave our home to do so. House Reed is with you, as we always have been."

Lord Cerwyn got up and said "I never properly thanked you for taking Winterfell back. You avenged my father, whom was flayed alive by Ramsay Bolton. Allow me to make it up to you now, as together we will fight the undead. Only promise me, that we will take the North back.. no matter how long it takes."

"I promise." Jon told him.

"Then we stand together, for you are my King in the North!" Lord Cerwyn shouted.

All of the lords in the room began standing up one by one and drew their swords, then began shouting "The King in the North! The King in the North! The King in the North!"

Jon looked at him, and he simply gave him a smirk and a tilt of the head.

* * *

Theon

* * *

After running for this long, he had no feeling in his feet anymore. He feared that they may have already caught frostbite, and there was no maesters for miles. The sky had been dark as night for longer than he could remember. He was sure daylight should have come by now, but there was none.

 _"I should've followed the sea, maybe the ships would've seen me and picked me up by now..."_ He thought.

He thought the journey back to Winterfell would be the hardest task he would face, but the fear of not making it was much worse.

 _"Rest... tired... sore..."_ The thoughts kept plaguing his mind like a disease, but if he stopped now - the strange creatures might catch up to him.

However, there was finally a change of scenery. Emerging from the trees, he saw Last River - or he at least thought that's what it was. He knew the river from maps of the North, and the river stretched at least a mile wide, and was still flowing water. He would never be able to make it across without freezing to death, and going around would take too long, the strange creatures would find him. But going back wasn't an option either. If he went back they would find him and turn him into one of them, just like they had the man he threw of the ship. Looking upon the river, he dropped to his knees and fell back into the snow - helpless to do anything. He began sobbing realizing the danger he was truly in. At least he got to save Yara, he knew that much. The warm tears streaming down his face were freezing quickly on to him.

In the distance, he heard a rumbling sound. He sat himself up quickly and looked around him. From the way he came, there was large dark clouds that would have a lightning bolt flicker ever so often, illuminating the surrounding area. It had to have been those same creatures that had attacked the ships just earlier.

 _"Why would they chase me this far!? Why me!?"_ He thought in horror.

 _"No... probably not me... just going to Winterfell too probably... going to kill the Starks."_ He assumed Karhold would probably be gone now if they made it this far.

He laid back down into the snow and awaited his fate. He knew there was no way of escaping this. He closed his eyes and thought back to his family. Thinking of the old times brought him small comfort. He remembered little Bran climbing up trees, and Sansa sewing clothing with Jeyne. And Yara sharing a drink with him. Soon enough, he heard footsteps coming.

 _"This is the end."_ He thought to himself.

The steps however were not average, they seemed to be moving too quickly. He didn't want to open his eyes to see what horrors awaited him, but he also wanted to know what it was going to be that would take his life. Now the steps were really close. Against his wishes, he jumped up to his feet and opened his eyes, and saw a man dressed in all black - riding a horse that looked almost undead itself.

"Who are you!?" He shouted fearfully.

He was stood up by the edge of the river, there was nowhere to run now.

"A friend." The strange person replied.

The man got off of his horse and walked up next to him. He was half afraid the man was still going to kill him, but instead he bent down to the water.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked almost not wanting to know the answer.

The man removed his glove, and his fingers looked purple - as if he had frostbite himself. The man then dipped his hand into the water and froze a part of it. He took a few steps away from the man out of fear.

"What are you!? I watched those- t- things! Freeze water just like you!" He shouted.

The man then climbed back on his horse and looked down at him saying "You've changed a lot, Theon. You used to be proud, and stubborn... what happened to you?"

 _"What the fuck?_ _"_ He thought.

He pondered if this was some sort of hallucination, some vision after death. Or if he was a god.

"How do you know my name? Am I dead? Are you some kind of god?" He asked frantic for answers.

He couldn't tell under the man's hood, but it seemed like he might've been smiling.

"You're not dead. But if we stay here too long, you may yet die. Come, take my hand, we'll go back to Winterfell." The man said, reaching his arm down.

He just saw him freeze water, it had to have been one of those things trying to kill him.

"You're one of them, aren't you? Those things that attacked me? I can't trust you!" He shouted worryingly.

The man then pulled his hand back up to his face and removed his hood. His skin looked freezing, but not like the strange creatures he had seen earlier. And the skin from his face seemed like it was dying, and had the face of a dead man.

"Who are you?" He asked again.

"Benjen Stark." The man answered.

Suddenly, his face was becoming familiar again. But how? It couldn't have been Benjen, he was dead.

"Y-you're supposed to be dead!" He said cowardly.

"You'd be right. Now get on, or the others will come and take us both." Benjen told him.

 _"That's it. I've finally gone mad."_ He thought to himself.

He grabbed Benjen's hand, and got pulled up on to the back of his horse. He looked behind them, and saw the strange creatures slowly marching toward them - bringing the storm as well.

"How are we going to get out of here!?" He questioned frantically.

"Like this!" Benjen shouted back.

Benjen then gave the horse a swift kick, and they began running on to the water. He shouted - thinking they would fall in, but somehow there was ice just beneath the horse's footsteps, and water surrounding them. He held on to Benjen with all of his strength as they crossed the river. He took another quick look back, and saw the undead creatures unable to cross on their own. They simply stopped and watched them at the edge of the river.

"Why aren't they following us?" He questioned concerned.

"The Wights cannot cross the water without their masters." Benjen explained.

"So how are you doing it?" He questioned.

"If I told you, you wouldn't understand. But this horse, he's not one of the living." Benjen answered.

"So where are you taking me?" He asked almost not wanting to know the answer.

"Back to Winterfell." Benjen answered.

* * *

Arya

* * *

She rolled over uncomfortably. Why was it so hard to just fall asleep? The gods were cruel to have made sleep necessary, but made it so damn hard to do so. Her train of thought was broken however, when there was the sounds of footsteps outside her tent. She looked over to where she had placed 'Jil's' face, but it wasn't there anymore. Had someone come into her tent and taken her face? She then reached under her bedroll and grabbed Needle. She pulled the blanket up to her face and pretended she was asleep, but was ready to attack if anyone entered the tent. So she waited. The footsteps got closer. Then closer. Now further. Further some more. Her time in the House of Black and White had improved her tracking abilities greatly through sound.

Why would someone be lurking past her camp? She had to know why, but if someone who recognized her face saw her - then baelish could try to plot against her. She decided she was going to look, but she needed to be cautious. She quietly crept up from her bedroll and peeked outside the curtain of her tent. She spotted Littlefinger walking deeper into the Whispering Wood. She quietly exited her tent and began following him. She kept her distance, as there was plenty of leaves littering the ground, which made her footsteps noisy. She continued following him through the darkness.

"Silent like a cat." She heard Syrio Forel's voice calling back to her.

She watched Littlefinger suddenly stop, and she hid behind a tree in case he would turn around. She listened carefully, hearing where he was. She then heard footsteps again. His? No. Not his. Someone else was coming. She dropped down to her knees and peeked around the corner of the tree. It was dark, but she saw someone approach Littlefinger with a torch - illuminating the area around them. It was a Lannister soldier. She was too far away to hear what they were saying, but the soldier handed Baelish something. Baelish seemed to frown at whatever it was, and then said something to the Lannister. She listened as best she could to make out what he was saying.

"Tell the queen 'she'll have her way.' Have her come to Riverrun." She heard.

"The queen? He must mean Cersei. Shit. Why did Sansa ever trust him? You idiot Sansa!" She thought.

She was about to run back to the castle, but Littlefinger turned and began walking toward her. She quickly moved back behind the tree and pressed her back as far up against it as she could. She heard him coming toward her. She held held her breath, and kept her hand on Needle. Littlefinger then began walking past her. He could've been only ten feet away. She watched him walking, but then he stopped again.

"Did you think you had me fooled so easily, Arya?" He said without turning to look at her.

He must've seen her. She drew needle from her side and ran toward him, but two Lannister soldiers grabbed her - and yanked Needle from her grasp.

"Fuck you!" She shouted in anger.

"Scream all you like. No one will hear you from out here." He said turning to face her.

She struggled to break free, but one of the soldiers punched her in her gut - knocking the air out of her.

"That's enough. I don't want her hurt too much." He said.

"The fuck do you care!? You're going to betray Sansa!" She shouted with spit in his face.

He then used his sleeve to wipe his face as he said "You know, for a moment you might've had me fooled. But in Riverrun when you refused to answer those questions, I knew something was off about you. And that tiny sword you keep hidden under your cloak, that was no common bought sword. I'm afraid you're not very good at keeping secrets. That's why I waited until you were asleep to go into your tent and find out for myself."

"Do you get off to narrating your schemes? Or is there a point to all of this?" She said harshly.

"I am educating you, Arya. You will be part of the great game soon enough, and if you want to survive - you must play along." He said as he pulled a bottle from his cloak.

"What are you doing!?" She asked fiercely.

"Nightshade. If I were you, I wouldn't struggle - you wouldn't want me to accidentally put one too many drops in you. Know that I only do this out of love for your sister." Littlefinger said creepily.

The Lannister soldiers grabbed her mouth and forced her to stay open.

"Shit! I can't pass out now, I need to warn Sansa!" She thought to herself.

She freed her elbow and rammed it into the guard on to her right, but he was wearing armor - and it had barely any effect. The guards then brought her to the ground and Littlefinger then poured two drops into her mouth. She began feeling weaker and weaker as she tried to fight back, until all her energy was exhausted.

* * *

Jaime

* * *

He saw Cersei looking as beautiful as ever, wearing a silk red dress almost see through. She started walking towards him and he reached out with both his hands to hold her. She moved into his grasp and began kissing him.

"Cersei... we shouldn't." He said quietly.

"I don't care what anybody else thinks. Let them laugh, let them make their jokes but there is no one else I love more in this world than you. I don't want that fat man's children. He doesn't deserve them." She told him coldly.

"I want yours. I want you to make love to me, and to tell me you want me." She said kissing him.

"If anyone found out, they would be bastards." He warned.

"Then they shan't find out. I may be married to him but I won't give him my cunt like it is his prize for winning a damn war." She said in between kissing.

"I don't want him, I want my brother, and I don't care how wrong it is so long as you tell me the same." She said.

"I.. I love you, Cersei." He admitted.

"Show me how much you love me." She said seductively, as she disrobed herself.

He held her tightly as tears began streaming down his face. He then woke up realizing the grim reality he found himself in. He looked to his hand, and it was still golden. He sat up on his bed and looked out the window. It was still dark outside. He took a deep breath and composed himself. His expression changed however, when he saw a Lannister army much larger than his approaching the castle. He then heard the castle drawbridge opening. He ran over to his armor and strapped it on as quickly as he could. He also made sure to grab his sword just before he went out. He drew his sword from his scabbard and went into Bronn's room. Bronn was still asleep.

He went over to him and punched him in his arm.

Bronn reacted to it and woke up saying "Awgh... the fuck was that for?"

"Get up, I think we're under attack!" He warned.

"Aw shit..." Bronn said groggy as he got up from his bed and grabbed his sword.

He went to the doorway and peeked down the hallway. He heard shouting echoing throughout the castle.

"Move your ass, Bronn!" He shouted.

"Thank you so very much for your words of encouragement." Bronn snapped back.

After they were both well equipped they went down the hallway together. They stopped at the corner and he peeked around the end to see what was happening. He saw Sansa getting dragged out of the castle by Lannister soldiers.

"Shit..." He said quietly.

"Other side, come on!" He told Bronn.

Together they began running to the other hallway exit, but Lannister soldiers then entered. They were trapped by both exits. Lannister's in the Lord's hall, and Lannisters in this hallway.

"Well fuck me in the ass..." Bronn said.

It seemed they both knew the odds of getting out of there in one piece by fighting. One by one they threw down their swords. The Lannister guards came up to them and grabbed them by their arms. They were then forced through the lord's hall. The doors opened for them and they saw in the courtyard, new flags were placed. It was the Iron Throne, with two lions next to it. As he looked around, he saw his former Lannister soldiers had turned against him - and his Frey army was completely slaughtered. The guards escorting him and Bronn walked them across the drawbridge to the open grassland. They were then both kicked down to their knees. He looked to his left and saw Sansa was lined up with him, along with Edmure. They then bound Bronn, Sansa and Edmure. They didn't bother to tie him up since he only had one hand anyway.

"Gods be damned..." He quietly said.

He looked around him, scanning the Lannister soldiers.

 _"What made them turn on me?"_ He pondered.

It was probably that woman who somehow found them, and knew Sansa. Jil, he recalled. Probably told Cersei where they were, and she sent her army to come collect. That was the worst he had hoped. But he looked up and suddenly saw Cersei herself walking toward them. His eyes widened upon seeing her again. The Mountain was walking next to her as she approached them. Nobody said anything, there was only silence.

After a while of staring, Cersei finally said "Why...?"

"Cersei... please..." He said.

Cersei had a frown, but showed no emotion. She spoke saying "You took my army. You plotted to kill me-"

"I never intended to kill you!" He interjected.

"No? But you still wanted to see me off the Iron Throne. Because why?" She asked.

He didn't have the courage to answer.

"Go on. Tell me why you betrayed me." Cersei said coldly.

"Cersei... you blew up the sept." He said sadly.

"And what would you have done?" She said defensively.

"What would I have done? You killed hundreds of people in that explosion! Using wildfire, the same wildfire that The Mad Kind placed under there!" He snapped.

"And we used wildfire to stop Stannis Baratheon from laying siege to King's Landing - I didn't hear you complaining then." She said coldly.

"That's not fair Cersei... we all agreed that was the right thing to do. Tommen killed himself over this!" He argued.

"You think I don't know that? For all my dying days I will love Tommen for who he was. I miss him so, but nothing will bring him back now." She said with emotion behind her voice.

He thought she might begin to cry, but she never shed a tear.

"Cersei... please stop this. There's no need for a war. Let's go back to Casterly Rock and live what time we have there - we don't need the Iron Throne." He pleaded.

She got a cold look in her eyes. The kind of look she used to give Tyrion.

"My flesh and blood died to stay on that throne. So many people died, so that we could have a chance to rule the Seven Kingdoms. And I'm not giving it up now." She said with a shaky voice full of anger.

Cersei walked over to Sansa.

"Did you do it?" Cersei asked.

"Kill Joffrey? No..." Sansa answered.

He believed her, but he wasn't so sure Cersei would be as easily convinced. Cersei then immediately slapped her with the back of her hand.

"Cersei stop! She didn't do it!" He begged.

"And why should I? This whore simply marries one man, to the next, and to the next killing every one of them. Of course she decided to spare Tyrion - solely to spite me. She's a black widow." She said.

"I loved Joffrey too, but we both know what he was. She was a victim in all of this, and all she wants is to go home." He swore.

"We'll see. Only after someone is truly broken do you find the truth." Cersei said harshly.

 _"Oh fuck it."_ He thought.

"It was me! I killed Joffrey!" He shouted.

"You may be many things Jaime, but parricide? No. And yet, you lie to protect her. Do you love her?" Cersei accused.

"Cer-"

"Answer the damned question, Jaime. Is that why you left me? Because you love her?" Cersei asked jealously.

She was certainly the most stubborn woman he had ever met. Was 'yes' the only answer she would accept? She was always jealous of him leaving her for another woman - except now she might kill him for it.

"I didn't leave you because of that." He assured her.

"Hm. It doesn't matter now. None of it will matter soon enough." Cersei said suggestively.

Whatever she had planned, wasn't good.

"What do you plan to do? Kill us? We're more use to you alive!" He informed.

He needed her to believe they could be useful if they would get out of this.

"Perhaps..." She said pacing over to Edmure.

"Who are you?" She said to him.

Edmure cowered and said "Lord Edmure Tully... your grace."

"Ah... the wolf bitch's uncle." Cersei said creepily.

"Please, Edmure wasn't a part of any of this - let him go!" Sansa pleaded.

Cersei seemed to ignore her, and walked over to Bronn now.

"And now you followed him too, Ser Bronn. Why?" Cersei asked.

Bronn shrugged with his shoulders saying "He was paying me - simple as that. I could care less about the politics of Westeros."

"Yes, what was his promise exactly? I believe he spoke of a castle and a lordship." Cersei mentioned.

It wouldn't surprise him if Bronn betrayed him for a bag of gold - he's done far worse for such.

"Bronn, don't-"

"If you speak one more time, Jaime I may have your tongue cut out." Cersei threatened.

"What are you offering?" Bronn asked.

"Kill Lord Edmure and Ser Jaime. And I will give you all he promised and more." Cersei promised.

"No! He's done nothing wrong!" Sansa shouted.

"I know that." Cersei said harshly.

He knew her ways, she wouldn't keep her promise. He only hoped Bronn could see through it. He looked to him and Bronn seemed to consider it. He opened his mouth, but knew that despite Cersei's ability to keep promises - her threats were much different.

"Alright. Untie me and let's get it over with." Bronn said.

 _"That two faced cunt."_ He thought.

Edmure tried to get up and run, but a Lannister guard grabbed him and forced him to the ground. Edmure shouted and kept trying to escape, but they had him within their grasp. Over to his right, a guard stood Bronn up and cut loose his bindings - then proceeded to give him a dagger. He watched as Bronn walked over to Edmure and Sansa sobbed. Sansa turned her head away from the scene, but he continued watching. Bronn bent down and rolled Edmure over. The lord had no way of stopping him with his hands tied, and just like that - Bronn slit coward's throat. It was gruesome watching the life fade out of poor Edmure. He certainly deserved better. He expected more cries from Sansa, but there were no more to be heard. Perhaps from all the death, she had become numb to it all.

Afterward, Bronn then came over to him. Bronn then took a deep sigh.

"I'll take no pleasure in this you know." Bronn said.

"If you think that means I won't try to haunt you from the afterlife simply because you feel bad, you're mistaken." He told him sourly.

Bronn looked at him and said "Stand up, at least die with some dignity."

He clenched his teeth, but stood up nonetheless. He looked over Bronn's shoulder toward Cersei, and she looked at the ground.

 _"What? Now she can't even watch her own work?"_ He thought.

He then noticed a few tears drip down from her cheeks. He was about to say something, but Bronn said "I think I'll want your armor. Looks expensive, it'd probably fetch a good price."

"Oh, so you want me to die with dignity - but then want me to strip down?" He said hysterically.

Bronn shrugged and said "I can think of worse ways to die."

He reluctantly undid the straps to his chestplate, and let it drop to the ground. He then took off the greaves and gauntlets, then Cersei said "Just get on with it already."

He had nothing but a thin tunic and long underwear covering him. And his 'hand' of course.

Bronn rested his hand on his shoulder and moved closer to him - then whispered in his ear "You'll thank me later"

Before he had time to even think of what he meant, Bronn shoved the dagger under his jaw just barely above his throat and sliced across him so hard he swore it cut to bone. The blood sprayed out on Bronn, and out of instinct he grabbed his wound to try and stop his bleeding frantically - and Bronn then pushed him, which knocked him off balance. He fell backwards as blood seeped out and he rolled down into the river as blood began coloring the water red around him. He then slipped unconscious from the sudden shock of events.

* * *

Cersei

* * *

She couldn't bare to watch him die. When she heard the slice, she knew that would be the end of him. The man she loved was gone now. She felt horrible at the moment, but knew later she would feel better. He betrayed her, he deserved what came to him.

"Take Sansa, have her under guard at all times. We ride for King's Landing by daylight. Give Ser Bronn a tent, and inform that I am not to be disturbed." She commanded.

The guards brought her to her feet and she turned to walk back to her new tent, and Ser Gregor followed her. Walking through the camp, there was little devastation. It only took the death of a few guards, and four tents burned to the ground to prove Jaime's soldiers were outnumbered. Inside Jaime's old command tent, Lord Baelish was waiting.

"Your grace, I figured you would come here." Baelish said cheerfully.

Her eyes were still red from the tears that had just been shed. She tried to hide it by not looking directly at him, it would be weak for him to see her like that.

However it did not seem to stop him from noticing when he asked "Are you troubled your grace? I thought you would be happy at this victory."

"Don't ask. Just simply tell me why you're here." She said emotionless.

Lord Baelish nodded and said "Very well, your grace. I simply thought now would be appropriate to discuss what else must be done. After all, we did just defeat two of your most dangerous enemies. With Sansa as a hostage, the North may support you against Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons."

She gave a weak laugh and said "'We.' Right. That brings up a question. Back before the High Sparrow and all his little sparrows betrayed me, you said you were always loyal to the crown, and even told me where Sansa was."

He nodded and said "You are right, your grace. I try to st-"

"Stop calling me 'your grace' after every sentence or I will have show you just how graceful I can be." She said harshly.

"As you wish." He said apologetic.

"Why did you not bring Sansa directly to me when you had the chance? Instead you brought her to Jaime, and went back up the River road." She told him.

Petyr gave a hint of a smile and said "I knew you wanted Sansa Stark in a cell, so that first that was my intention. But then I had heard that your brother had betrayed you. She was locked away in the Eyrie, and before I had time to bring her to you - I came up with a far better plan. I convinced her I was on her side, told her that we would side with your brother - and defeat you and your army. After we went to him, I said that we would side with the dragon queen to beat you. So once we arrived at Riverrun, that was when I was going to send you the letter to come and capture them for yourselves - however you can imagine my surprise when I learned you were already on your way. So I decided to meet with one of your soldiers and deliver the message that I would open the drawbridge so you could enter without a siege. And now you have them both."

She then sat down in a chair opposite from where he was standing, and Ser Gregor blocked the door.

"You also swore allegiance to House Stark for everyone to hear. Word traveled as far as Dorne." She said accusatory.

He looked her in the eyes and said "I said what was necessary to gain their trust, and they left me alone with Sansa. It worked, and here we are now. Words are wind, but my actions will prove my loyalty."

She leaned back and said "Hm. But that still begs the question of what you asked. You wanted me to name you warden of the North, and in return you had promised to kill the victor of either Stannis or Ramsay when they would take Winterfell. Instead I found out you established Ned Stark's bastard to rule over it instead. Even helped him win the battle."

Petyr tilted his head and said "Your g- apologies - my queen, but have you noticed how many allies you can still call allies? I'm afraid Euron Greyjoy and myself are your only ones, and Euron hasn't fared well against the Dragon Queen so far. And while she still aims to take the throne from you, you're still outnumbered as she must have ninety thousand Dothraki at her side, and you're sitting at a comfortable twenty thousand including Euron. So long as she has the numbers and her dragons, you're still on a losing battle. But Jon Snow has a pact with her currently, and you need someone on the inside. Use Sansa as a hostage, tell him to betray her and kill her and you will set Sansa free."

"And how could you have known that he would form this pact with the Dragon Cunt before she even arrived to Westeros?" She asked, trying to corner him.

He smiled and proudly said "Varys isn't the only master of whispers, my queen. I have kept tabs on her ever since Robert Baratheon wanted her poisoned. When I heard of her plans to return to Westeros, I told Jon Snow to formulate this alliance with her - and that he could win the Iron Throne with her help, and fight these undead creatures he worries about from the north. And now that he's earned her trust, all he will need is your threat of harming Sansa - and he will turn on her."

She couldn't help but admire him. He was smart, he played them from the beginning. He thought of everything. It was no wonder he was good at the great game.

"Thank you for all of your help, Lord Baelish. And I suppose I can count on your support with the Knights of the Vale against the Targaryen?" She asked.

"You can. However there is one more thing, I would like to add - and that is reward." He said.

She didn't want to reward his scheming, but she didn't want to lose his support even more.

"And what do you ask for?" She said.

"Gold of course, but primarily food - and lots of it. My army will not be able to fight if they starve to death." He requested.

"Now that Casterly Rock has been secured I may be able to find a fair amount to reward you with. As for food, I'm afraid I don't have enough to feed both the Knight's of the Vale and my own Lannister army." She said.

"Winter is here, my queen - and we will need food if we are to fight a war and survive without starving." Baelish warned.

She smiled and said "Do not worry. I have already planned for that."

* * *

 _ **Note: This is my longest chapter yet with 11,000+ words to help make up for the lack of uploads - so be kind; Leave comment. Or don't, just happy if you like the way it's been going so far.**_


	22. Chapter 22: A maester's time

Samwell

* * *

After climbing the stairs to Marwyn's chambers, he was exhausted. The climb hadn't seemed to be getting any easier, but he felt to have lost a few pounds from the exercise up and down repeatedly. Once he got to his door, he knocked on it and awaited a response. After a short time had passed, no one had come to the door. Perhaps he hadn't heard him. He knocked again - and there was still nothing.

"Archmaester Marwyn? Are you in there?" He asked.

There was still no response. He looked around, and there were no other maesters nearby - and he wasn't going to go back up and down the stairs again. He turned the handle and the door slowly squeaked open. Upon entering, he smelled an awful stench - similar to rotting flesh. He covered his nose and looked toward where the scent was coming from, and saw Marwyn on the ground. And beside him was Jorah on a table.

"Oh dear..." He said to himself.

He quickly ran over to Marwyn and shouted "Archmaester Marwyn, can you hear me? It's me, Samwell!"

He held his hand to feel for a pulse, but it immediately felt cold. It seemed Marwyn had been dead for a while. He looked over to Jorah, and it seemed he was in the middle of treatment upon his death. He looked back to Marwyn and noticed a small red dot on his neck with a very small pool of blood under it. It was possible it was coincidental, but unlikely to him.

He stood up and looked to Jorah. He saw old burn marks upon his chest, and newer ones toward his shoulder that had seemed to be causing the horrible stench. He then noticed a little groan from Jorah.

 _"Oh no... he's going to wake up!"_ He thought to himself.

He looked to Marwyn once again. He had been long dead, there was nothing he could do for him now. However he wanted Jorah to survive, the least he could do was try to help him. He ran over to Marwyn's desk and looked around it, trying to find something useful. He read through papers searching for anything - and finally stopped upon one of his papers.

"Upon my removal of the skin, I burned it to the point of blistering. Afterward, I gave it the prayer and surely enough - the next morning the disease had slowed at an extraordinary rate. A couple more treatments, and I believe it will stop spreading." He read.

He noticed Jorah began to sit up from the table from his peripherals, and looked over to him. He quickly turned his head and looked toward him. Jorah had seemed confused, and looked to the ground seeing what had happened to the archmaester. His reaction quickly turned to fear.

"Did you do this?" Jorah asked fearfully.

"No, of course not! But try not to move too much, you don't want-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the old man rolled on to his seared arm and clenched his teeth in pain.

"...hurt yourself." He finished.

"What in seven hells is going on here? Why am I still afflicted? The maester said this one would be the last treatment." Jorah said, holding back pain in his voice.

"I don't know, I'm going to try to find out - but if I don't finish what he started now, you may be doomed to your affliction." He warned.

Jorah laid back down on the table, giving in. It wasn't as if he could do much anyway in his condition. He went over to one of Marwyn's cabinets and found a blanket. He pulled it out, and went over to the late archmaester's body. Looking down upon him, he unfolded the blanket and covered his body. Afterward, he then went over to the table Jorah was laid upon. He looked at a book which Marwyn had written, and set up next to the table. It seemed the book had illustrations of how he had previously treated the old man, and how to re-create it.

He then looked at Marwyn's medical table and grabbed the milk of the poppy he helped with earlier, but when he picked it up, it felt much lighter. He opened the bottle and saw that it was empty.

"Oh..." He slipped out.

Jorah looked toward him and asked "What? What's wrong?"

"It's just... there's no more..." He trailed off.

Jorah looked at the bottle in his hand and realized there was no more medicine. The old man let out a sound between a growl and a sigh.

"I know. I'm sorry. But if I don't finish the Archmaester's treatment, you might die or worse... I have to try." He informed.

Mormont turned his head and said "Just get on with it."

He nodded and looked over Marwyn's tools, figuring out which ones he would need.

"You know, I knew your father. Jeor Mormont, right?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

The man nodded and said "Aye... that was him..."

"When I first heard your name was Mormont I thought it might've just been coincidental. I thought all of his children were at Bear Island." He said flipping through Marwyn's book, studying it carefully.

"That was... a long time ago." Jorah said with shame in his tone. "What's going on here anyway? How did the maester die?"

He looked back to Marwyn's body and said "I don't know yet, I wish I had time to inform the other archmaesters - but I'm afraid they wouldn't help you.

Jorah tilted his head and asked "Why not?"

He gave a nervous smile and said "Well he was using a... new method, of healing."

He then picked up a scalpel and followed the book's instructions. Jorah looked at his scalpel, failing to hide the fear in his eyes.

"Listen, I'm going to need you to try to be quiet if you can manage that. If the other maesters come in here and find him dead with us in here, they might think I did it." He warned.

Thankfully, Marwyn had cured most of his body already - however unless he finished his arm, it would spread back again. Jorah took a deep breath and looked to him, then nodded.

He grabbed a clean rag nearby and gave it to him saying "If you need to yell, this should help muffle it."

Jorah took the cloth with his good hand and put it in his mouth. He looked over Marwyn's surgical table and put on a pair of surgical gloves to lessen the risk of contamination. He used the scalpel to start peeling off the dead skin, and Jorah immediately jumped at the reaction. He used his other hand to hold him down, and stopped cutting for a moment.

"Fuck this, fuck it to the seven hells!" Jorah said wincing.

"I know, I know. But there's no other way." He said trying to calm him.

"Okay... here we go." He added, preparing him.

He then began peeling the skin from his arm again. Jorah clenched his right hand into a fist in response to the immense amount of pain he must have been experiencing. As thicker pieces came off, it started bleeding as it teared away from him. Even he winced himself upon seeing what he was doing, but continued nonetheless. He put pieces of it into a small bowl after bits were separated from him. Jorah shoved the rag into his mouth and bit down on it, trying to stop himself from yelling out. After a few minutes of peeling, he finally removed it all. It was astounding the poor man hadn't passed out from the pain already.

"Okay... now, we're going to have to burn the area." He informed.

Jorah took the rag out of his mouth and asked "Can you give me a moment? Just a little time."

Hesitantly, he answered "Alright, but not too long. If we wait too long, that arm could get infected."

Jorah looked exhausted from the effort already. He went over to Marwyn's fireplace and grabbed a fire poker, and then began heating it up. The options were limited, so he was going to have to use it to cauterize him - and kill the disease. After heating it up, he then went back over to Jorah with the now hot fire poker.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Jorah looked at his arm, and then said "It's now or never."

They both took a deep breath. Jorah stuffed the rag back in his mouth. He then began pressing the fire poker on the areas he had peeled the skin off as quickly as he could. He could hear muffled shouts from the old man behind the rag. He continued burning it until he was completely sure that all of the area he cut got completely burned. Finally, he was able to put down the fire poker. He grabbed some bandages from Marwyn's medical tray and began wrapping his arm up in the bandages. Jorah then pulled the rag out of his mouth.

"Okay. I think that's it." He said.

"Ungh... what happens now?" Jorah said, obviously drained from the event.

"We have to get you out of here. I don't think any other maesters know that you're here, and if someone killed Marwyn - they may have been trying to kill you too." He said concerned.

Jorah grunted and said "I'm not sure I can move..."

"You have to. You came this far, and if you give up now - than all of your suffering was for nothing." He warned.

The old man looked to consider it for a moment, until saying "Alright... help me up."

"Wait, I need to move everything back. Make sure no one knows either of us were in here." He warned.

If the maesters had any reason to believe he came inside the room, he would be a suspect. He went over to Marwyn's desk and sorted his letters back to the places he had found them. Afterward, he went back to Marwyn's body and removed the blanket off of him. In doing so, he saw Marwyn's lifeless eyes staring back at him. A chill ran down his spine, and went to the cabinet he found the blanket it. He opened it, but just before putting it back in, he noticed some old maester's garments inside. He pulled them out and put the blanket back in its place.

He then returned to Jorah and said "Here, put these on. If they think you're a maester, it'll raise less suspicion. And try not to act hurt - at least until we're out of the Citadel."

Jorah nodded and leaned off the medical table. He then moved to keep an eye on the door while Jorah slipped on the robes. He took a quick peek, and no one was nearby. Soon enough, Jorah walked up to him and said "I'm ready."

"Good... let's go." He said taking him by his good arm and leading him down the halls.

"Why are you helping me?" Jorah whispered curiously.

"Because Archmaester Marwyn was my friend. And if he wanted you to live, than you'll bloody well live." He said seriously.

* * *

Jaime

* * *

He woke up coughing water from his throat. His lungs were burning for air, as he choked trying to get it all out. He heard a faint voice next to him, but he couldn't concentrate on it. He continued coughing until his throat was finally clear enough to breathe in air. He had never appreciated breathing more than right now.

"Careful... can you hear me?" A female voice said.

He coughed again and asked "Am I dead? Or are you my rescuer?"

His eyes were watery, and he couldn't see who was there just yet. But he could tell the sun was out. The easiest thing for him to recall was it being night time.

"Your rescuer, unfortunately." The voice said.

He wiped his eyes and saw a young girl sitting over him. She sat him up and he coughed again, clearing his windpipe. He suddenly recalled what happened, and his jaw struck him with pain as blood began dripping down his chest.

"Fuck... that hurts..." He said.

The girl tore off a piece of her cloak and began wrapping it around his head and under his chin. It wasn't maester level of professional, but it would stop his bleeding.

"Thanks... who are you?" He asked.

The girl paused for a moment, but didn't answer.

"Well... where are we?" He asked.

"Not far from Riverrun." She answered.

He then recalled Cersei showing up there.

"Shit... Sansa, did you see her? Is she alright?" He asked.

"No, I didn't. I was hoping you would have." The girl replied.

 _"Me? She knew I was with Sansa?"_ He thought.

He tried standing up but was a little dizzy from the near death experience. The girl then grabbed his wrist just above his golden hand and helped him stand.

"Well thanks for the information, but how did you know I was with Sansa at all?" He asked suspiciously.

The girl looked away from him and said "You asked if she was alright, yes?"

"Except you talk like you already know her." He said accusingly.

He wasn't quite sure who this person was. The only other strange girl he knew was Jil, and this woman looked nothing like her.

"I'm not sure if I can trust you yet..." The girl said vaguely.

He scoffed saying "Then you should've let me drown in that river."

"Why don't you just shut up, and be grateful I haven't killed you?" The girl said harshly.

She was quite fierce for such a small little girl. But she did have a point, he figured it would be best for him to play nice for now if he had any chance of being safe.

"You're right... I'm sorry. You went to the trouble of rescuing me, so I suppose I owe you one." He said.

She sat down and leaned up against a rock saying "So you have no idea where Sansa is?"

He began thinking for a moment. If this girl didn't know what happened to her, than Cersei had to have her... which meant she wouldn't live long.

He sighed and said "Cersei probably has her now. And with no army to mount a rescue, she'll be in the King's Landing Black Cells before dusk. Fuck!"

The girl fiddled with her gloves and asked "Why would you help her? What do you have to gain out of it?"

He wondered that question himself. He didn't need to help her, but he still felt compelled to. At least to stop Cersei from hurting any more people.

"I wanted to save Cersei from herself... I thought I could. I was wrong... as far helping Sansa goes, I just don't want her to hurt anybody else. She blew up the sept with Wildfire and killed hundreds or thousands of people in doing so..." He said sadly.

The girl looked at him strangely and said "You talk about her like she's already dead."

He sat down across from her and said "In a way... she already is. I was just in denial. I thought I could stop a war from breaking out between her and the Targaryen woman, perhaps talk her into giving up the throne and coming with me back to Casterly Rock."

The girl kept looking at him weirdly, like she was seeing a ghost.

"You know, any time, feel free to stop staring at me like that." He mentioned.

The girl looked away from him, and then said "I'm Arya... Arya Stark."

He tilted his head. Was he supposed to recognize that name? Suddenly, it came back to him. That little girl that Ned had brought to King's Landing had escaped. He assumed she was dead, she had to be.

"You're who?" He asked in disbelief.

The girl looked at him fiercely and said "If you dare tell Cersei I'm alive, I'll cut your balls off and then you can go buy yourself some golden balls to go along with your hand."

He stayed quiet, only studying her face. It had been years since he saw her, but it started to look more and more familiar.

"I have no intention, but... how? How did you survive all these years?" He asked.

"It's a long story... too long for just one conversation." She said.

"Now it's all starting to make sense... did you send that girl after us? Jil?" He asked.

Arya tilted her head a little and said "It's a little hard to explain, but in a way - I did."

"Then where is she? Should we go looking for her?" He asked.

Arya shook her head saying "No, she's gone now. It's just us."

He let out a deep sigh and laid down in the grass. He felt helpless without his army or even a sword. He had no idea what to do next.

"How did things get so fucked up? How am I supposed to come back from this and somehow stop Cersei?" He asked pessimistically.

"I'm surprised you're trying so hard to stop her. I would've thought you'd side with her." Arya said carefully.

"She tried to have me killed. Had it have been anyone other than Bronn, I'd be a dead body floating down the stream. I can't side with that." He said.

 _"And to think... she loved me."_ He thought to himself. Thoughts constantly plagued his mind of how she could do that to him.

Arya stood up and said "Things are bad, but we haven't lost all hope yet. We can still kill her."

He sat himself up and said "I don't want her killed, I want her imprisoned."

"After she would've had you killed, you still couldn't do the same to her?" Arya asked hysterically.

"It's more complicated than that..." He said vaguely.

Arya paused for a moment, and then mentioned "Jon. My brother. I heard Sansa talk about returning to him in Winterfell, we can still go there. If we tell him what happened to Sansa, he'll surely help us!"

He considered it for a few seconds, but then recalled his pact with the Targaryen woman and Tyrion. He had the courage to meet with her, but he wasn't sure about Tyrion. He still loved him, but he killed his father.

"I don't know if I can make the trip that far in my condition." He said concerned.

She glared at him angrily, as if there were fire in her eyes.

"So, what? You're just going to give up? I didn't drag you out of the river just so you could lay your sword down and say 'I quit!'"

The young Stark reminded him a little bit of Brienne. He recalled back when she had told him to quit being such a woman, and unintentionally let a smile slide across his face.

"You're right. If Sansa is going to get out of this in one piece, she's going to need both our help. And if I die, I might as well die fighting for a just cause." He said as he began standing back up.

Arya didn't show it, but she seemed to be smiling a little - if only on the inside.

"Come, we'll need to stay off the King's road. I wouldn't be surprised if Littlefinger told her I was around here." She said.

He looked toward her confused and asked "Wait, Littlefinger? How would he know you-"

"Like I said, it's a long story. I'll tell you along the way."

* * *

Jon

* * *

Looking over the courtyards of Winterfell, he saw packs of grain and meats all being stored and loaded on to carriages. For a moment he welcomed the sight, but the reality of the situation they had found themselves in was beginning to show its ugly head. They were packing up and running from a near unstoppable threat. Ygritte came up to him as he stood over the railing and took his hand into hers.

"The free folk are ready to go whenever your people are." She said.

He shook his head and said "I fear this could become a habit - packing up and running, that is."

"Quit doubting y'self. No one has ever come this far." She told him.

"Aye... and all of our suffering is for nothing if we don't beat them." He said referring to the undead army approaching.

"Gods, what would you do without me to give you all these little pep talks?" She asked hysterically.

He thought for a moment, then said "Probably shitting myself outside the walls of Winterfell."

She leaned on his shoulder and said "Then wipe your arse, 'n get out there to show them the way."

She certainly had an interesting way of boosting his morale. He turned to her and planted a kiss upon her lips. Soon after, he then saw Tyrion, Davos and Brynden all walking toward the catwalk they were on.

Once they approached, Davos said "My king, unfortunately all the carriages are full. I came to ask how best we should proceed. We can carry more food, but it will surely slow us down. There is an alternative, of leaving the food and we will be more likely to make it south quicker than the undead."

He nodded and said "Winter has come. If we don't bring that food, we'll all starve anyway. Better we bring it, and if we have to face the dead - than that's the battle we'll have to fight. But there's no chance we'll even survive the journey without the food."

Davos smiled and said "I agree, your grace - I will begin preparations."

Davos then went back down the steps and Bryndan came up saying "I just wanted to know if you had any wine to spare."

He tilted his head and asked "Are you sure that's wise?"

"I've heard of nothing wiser ever said." Tyrion added.

"There's a crate by the northern courtyard, have at it." He gave in.

"I think I'll join you." Ygritte mentioned.

He looked at her like she was a complete other person, while saying "I thought you only drank proper northern drinks."

"Fuck off, I can still out drink you three times over." She said smugly.

"I just want a taste is all." She added.

"Run along than." He said shaking his head.

Brynden and her began walking off and he heard him say "Three times you said? I've never even seen him drink once!"

She then promptly punched Brynden in his arm. He snickered a little at the sight, and then looked to Tyrion who had not left.

"I thought you'd join them." He said.

"How dare you make such an accusation? I'm appalled by such an unfounded-"

He simply stared him down, and the dwarf then said "Guilty."

He shook his head and asked "Back in the Great Hall, you stood up for me. Why did you? I've been trying to figure it out all since last night."

Tyrion cocked his head up at him and said "You could've just come and asked me."

"Well I'm asking now, aren't I?" He said sarcastically.

Tyrion dropped his jaw slightly and said "Is that... sarcasm? From a Stark? I never thought I'd see the day."

"I'm not a Stark." He said softly.

"No... I suppose not. Not like any I've met." Tyrion said.

"That still doesn't answer my question." He said persistent.

Tyrion leaned up against the railing and said "We're friends. Friends are supposed to help each other. And I believe you have noble intentions, Jon Snow. You try so hard to bring safety for others, and are selfless in doing so. It's that kind of attitude that will make the world a better place. I figured you deserved the help."

"So what you said in there, was it all true? You weren't just saying whatever it took to make them believe in me?" He asked in disbelief.

Tyrion nodded and said "I doubt they would've been convinced if I made it all up."

He felt honored to have been admired so greatly.

"I don't deserve your friendship." He said humbly.

"You're too hard on yourself, Stark." Tyrion told him.

"I already told you, I'm not a-" He stopped himself once he saw Tyrion smiling.

Tyrion then reached up and gave him a pat on his back, and then walked off. Perhaps he had a point, he was a little tough on himself. He would never admit he deserved any of it, but he earned it nonetheless. He wondered what Ned would think of him acting this way now that he knew his true parentage. He then reached his hand up behind his head and pulled the net keeping his hair back, out. He then threw it off into a fire basin below and let it burn. There was no room for doubt anymore. He was where he was, and he would make sure to appreciate it.

* * *

Cersei

* * *

Sansa was being held inside the same carriage Littlefinger had previously been using to transport her. She made sure that horses stayed next to the doors at all times in case she would try to escape.

Ser Bronn soon rode up next to her saying "So. About my payment?"

She looked at him coldly and said "You're an efficient killer, you've proved as much. Which is why I cannot give you your reward yet."

Studying Bronn carefully, she expected he would become angry - however he showed nothing of the sort.

Instead, Bronn asked "What did you have in mind."

She changed her attitude to seem less harsh and said "I need someone to command my armies against the Targaryen woman's allies. Once we arrive at King's Landing, I will name you commander of the Lannister army and send you with Euron Greyjoy to capture Dorne from the sandy cunts who allied with the dragon whore. After it is cleared, you shall be named Lord of Sunspear once the war is won."

Bronn tilted his head and said "Sounds like a decent arrangement. However I'll want gold upfront before I do this task for you."

He was treading on outstandingly thin ice after what he had pulled with Jaime, but his demands were far from unreasonable.

"I will have Lord Baelish count the treasury and deem a fair amount of pay for you when we arrive at King's Landing." She told him.

"Alright then. So when are we arriving?" Bronn asked.

She stayed silent as they arrived over the hill on the King's road which overlooked the city, and let the visuals speak for her. As they rode down into the streets of King's Landing, the townsfolk were cheering upon her return. She let a small smile slide across her face. She doubted they were cheering for her, but instead cheering out of fear for what might happen if they didn't. Together they all rode to the gates of The Red Keep, and she had them stop just before entering. Ser Gregor dismounted his horse and walked over to her offering her a hand. She gracefully took it and he helped her off her horse. She then began walking over to Littlefinger's carriage. The Lannister guards nearby stood ready for anything she might try, however she knew the girl wouldn't.

She opened the door to the carriage and saw Sansa with her eyes red and her cheeks wet. The girl must've been crying during the ride back to King's Landing - however she shed no tears now.

"Come along, sweet thing." She said acting kindly.

Either Sansa believed her act, or knew there was nothing she could do to get out of the situation - as she stepped out of the carriage without hesitation. The peasants around them then began booing at Sansa, and one even spit at her. She expected a much different reaction. She did not recall their loyalty to nearly such a degree, and wondered how Qyburn had convinced the people to react such a way to the Stark Bitch. She would make sure to reward him later.

She then turned to The Mountain and said "Ser Gregor, please find Lady Sansa a nice cell - one with a window."

She made it sound more generous than it actually was. She then walked through the gates into The Red Keep with Ser Bronn, while Ser Gregor did as he was instructed. Upon entering The Great Hall, Maester Qyburn rose to his feet and gave her a smile. She returned it with half a smirk.

After they approached him, she said "Ser Bronn, you may have any of the open guest bedrooms you wish until you are called upon."

Bronn made a little bow and said "As you wish, your grace." just before leaving the room.

She then sat down on the Iron Throne, and Qyburn walked a little closer to stand by her side.

"I assume all went well?" He asked politely.

"Most of it..." She said softly.

"I'm glad to hear it, your grace." Qyburn said with a smile.

"What has happened while I was away?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well your grace, some good and some bad." He said calmly.

Of course there was bad. There was always bad. She only hoped none of it involved him.

"Get on with it then." She commanded.

"Casterly Rock and Riverrun are now under your control, and the citizens of King's Landing are with you. However Euron Greyjoy ran into a complication when attacking Daenerys Targaryen's fleet." He said concerned.

"Go on." She told him.

"Euron Greyjoy says that there were strange creatures that attacked him and his fleet not long after he stole the Targaryen's fleet. The chaos caused him to lose most of her ships, and she managed to reclaim some of them back - but not before he could sink a few." Qyburn said cautiously.

 _"Creatures?"_ She wondered.

"What kind of creatures? Sharks? Her dragons? Sea monsters?" She asked mockingly.

"I would not be so quick to dismiss him, your grace - many of his crewman all told a similar story. If you would please follow me." He requested.

She stood up and he began leading her down the halls that usually lead to his quarters.

"He could have felt embarrassment for the loss, and had his crew members lie with him to make it seem as if it were out of his control." She suggested.

They began walking down the steps that lead into his quarters. Some would call it a dungeon.

"I was not easily convinced either, your grace. Strange creatures killing his crewmen and stealing ships? It seemed like a story." He said.

"So what changed?" She asked.

As they entered his lab, there were two tarps that were red with dried blood, covering objects that were stood up, and underneath them were two small pools of dried blood. and there was another tarp over the same table he had performed his work on Ser Gregor with.

"I would stand here, your grace. Do not come close to these. I only do so for your safety." He warned.

She did as she said and stood in the center of the room, looking toward the vertically placed tarps. Qyburn stepped over to one of them, and then quickly yanked the tarp off before jumping back immediately. And underneath it was a man with his arms and feet bound by chains around his waist, and cuffs upon his hands and feet forced up against a wooden table turned vertical. The man smelled awful, and his lips were black while his mouth looked similar to ash, and his tongue looked as if it had been burned. The man began repeatedly chomping his teeth down together so hard she heard one of his teeth crack. It then screeched as if it were speaking some other language, and had blue eyes so bright it could illuminate the room.

"What is this abomination?" She asked fearfully.

The creature continued to struggle for a moment, but then finally realized it was trapped and went limp underneath its shackles.

"I had wondered the same question. I researched many diseases while you were away, trying to find what had caused it but none of the books on the record state anything to have symptoms like this." Qyburn said.

"Where did you get this... is it even human anymore?" She asked.

"Euron Greyjoy used a horn called Dragonbinder to try and cripple Daenery's dragons and bend them to his will. This man, Victarion Greyjoy was the one who blew the horn. In doing so... it killed him." He explained.

"How did you manage to get him in here?" She asked baffled.

Qyburn them removed the tarp covering what was next to Victarion, and there was another man who looked like he had his throat ripped out from him - and the same glowing blue eyes. And it screeched an ear piercing sound.

"While we tried to restrain him here, one of Euron's crewman was killed by Victarion when he had bit his throat out. Euron immediately informed that all of his crewman that had been killed were turned into one of these, so I suggested we restrain his body before he would have the chance to turn. And surely enough... he did." He said with a hint of fear behind his voice.

"So the men it kills... they are turned into one of these... beasts." She said curiously.

Qyburn walked over to the surgery table and said "Not quite, your grace."

He then pulled the tarp off the table, and Grand Maester Pycelle was lying on the table bound by shackles with his organs visible from his neck down to his cock as he struggled to break free making a similar screech and glowing blue eyes just like the others.

"The creatures never touched Pycelle's body... yet he turned nonetheless. I was in the middle of removing his organs for experimentation on a new medicine when he came back from the dead." Qyburn said with a shiver in his voice.

"What kind of disease is this? I've never seen or heard anything of its likeness." She said, unable to avert her eyes from the hideous creatures.

"I searched through the records of known Westerosi diseases from late Pycelle's old books, but I came up with nothing... until one day, I came up with an epiphany. I had heard that the Night's Watch would burn their dead - not because of tradition, but to prevent the spread of a horrible disease." He said.

"And what is this disease called?" She asked.

"It turned out not to be a disease, your grace... here." He said picking up a book and giving it to her.

She took the book, and it showed an illustration of a skeleton, with his eyes turned bright blue. Qyburn then pointed out a sentence in the book, and she read it.

 _"Over a thousand years ago - perhaps during The Wall's construction, the long night was the worst winter the west had ever seen. Not because it was cold, but because what came with it. The newly formed Night's Watch had discovered that when one of their men died, it had come back as what we call 'Wights.' The Wight attempted to kill everyone in its path, and dozens of men tried to cut it down - only to find it would not work. Only fire was able to stop the Wight from attacking. Thankfully, the Wights have not been seen again since a thousand years, however The Night's Watch continues to burn their dead all the same. Unconfirmed stories from The Night's Watch would say that White Walkers were the cause of the Wight's creation, however there is no physical link between the White Walkers existence - let alone creation of the Wights at all."_

"If we're standing in the presence of a Wight, Maester Qyburn - what does this mean..." She asked.

"After the war is won your grace, we must find a way to stop these undead creatures. If we cannot, I fear the long night may come again." He warned.

* * *

 ** _Note: So, here we are at 22 chapters in. I'm surprised the story has gotten as popular as it has, but I'm nonetheless grateful. Lately I have been making bigger, longer chapters which does take more time. This chapter was about 6,000 words, so intended to be a little bit bigger than the usual 4. So normally I don't ask for reviews but I feel your opinions would be very much appreciated here._**

 _ **So, should I make longer chapters even if they take more time? Or shorter ones, but they get released more quickly. Again, you don't have to leave any reviews saying such, but I would like the input as it does let me know whether I'm doing good or not. Even if you do not have an account on this website, I would still like you to leave your opinion anonymously as this is less about how good or bad chapters are - and more about personal preference.**_

 __ _ **Regardless, thank you all very much for the kind words you have left and for being loyal readers to this story.**_


	23. Chapter 23: Black Cell

Bran

* * *

Meera brought him outside as everyone was loading their friends and supplies into carts, and they were preparing to put him inside one. He saw Jon leading the cart back into the courtyard, which would be carrying him for the next few days of travel.

Jon came up to him and said "Seems this'll be the last time we see Winterfell."

He didn't know for sure if they could return, but he told him "No... I think we'll come back."

"I hope you're right. I never thought I'd see this place again after I left for the Night's Watch, but here we are again." Jon said hopeful.

"What are you going to do about Cersei?" He asked.

Jon paused for a moment, and then said "When we arrive at Seagard, we will wait for Daenerys and prepare a battle strategy. Hopefully House Mallister won't try to side against us upon our arrival. It is possible they could try to kick us out for treason against the queen, and then we'd have a siege."

"Do we have enough people for a siege?" He questioned.

Jon nodded and said "Assuming she hasn't garrisoned the castle, aye."

"Maybe I could try to see a vision, figure out what's going on there." He speculated.

Before Jon could answer, Edd came up to them and said "Lord Commander, Theon Greyjoy is at the gate - and a man wrapped in cloaks in with him. Beric Dondarrion is speaking to him now, but I need your permission before we let them in."

Jon seemed to pause in thought for a moment, but he immediately spoke up saying "Theon...? Are you sure?"

Jon turned back to him and said "Hold on a moment Bran, I know what you're thinking."

He immediately questioned how Theon could be talked about so casually - especially after what he did beheading Rodrik Cassel and Maester Luwin.

"Do you have any idea what he did to me? To our family?" He asked angrily.

"Bran please, just don't do anything rash - not yet at least. I don't like him either, but he's suffered for his crimes. It doesn't excuse them - I know, but he's Daenerys' ally right now, and we can't just kill him. Alright?" Jon said.

He didn't want to hold back his feelings toward Theon, but he would for Jon. If it was that important, he'd let him slide for now. He silently nodded his head and said "Take me with you, I want to see him."

Jon nodded and said "Lady Reed, I assume you can bring him along no problem."

Meera shrugged and said "He's gotten a little heavier over the years, but-"

"Oh shut up." He said playfully.

Meera dragged him along as they went to the gate together. Once they arrived, Jon shouted "Open the gate, Duncan!" To a Night's Watchman.

Duncan then proceeded to open it for them. He immediately recognized as the cloaked man rode in, it was Benjen. And the undead horse was unmistakable. Beric came down from the castle wall and looked him face to face, or face to scarf rather.

"Jon, be careful - look at the man's horse. Think carefully before you lower your guard." He heard Beric whisper.

"Uncle Benjen!" He shouted.

Jon turned to him and looked like he was insane, or if he was having some vision. The hooded man then turned and looked at him, and then proceeded to dismount his horse, and then helped Theon down too. He wondered if Benjen knew the things Theon had done. Regardless, the man began coming closer, and both Jon and Beric placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, and Benjen quickly stopped in his tracks.

"Jon, it really is him! Beyond The Wall, we saw him - he saved us!" Meera spoke in his defense.

Jon shook his head and said "I don't know what they saw, but Bran and Meera say you're... that you're..."

Jon seemed to struggle to find the right words to say, but Benjen then removed his hood and scarf from his face. Jon's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"Benjen...?" Jon said almost fearfully - like he was looking at a ghost.

"Jon... I'm sorry I disappeared" Benjen told him.

Benjen certainly didn't look good, but he was still the same old uncle they knew. Jon took his hand off his sword and hugged him.

"I've missed you, uncle!" He heard Jon say. It reminded him of when Jon was younger, from before he had joined the Night's Watch. Only a boy who looked up to his uncle the same way he had.

Benjen slowly hugged him back and said "And I, you. You've molded yourself into a fine young man."

Jon finally let go and asked "How did you survive after all this time?"

Benjen looked down and said "Unfortunately, I don't have all the time to tell you, but you can ask Bran later."

He then said "The last time I saw you, you were beyond The Wall and said you couldn't come with me."

Benjen frowned and said "The magic that once protected The Wall is gone, and the undead were able to cross - and so was I."

Beric then looked strangely and said "Forgive me, Stark but you don't look very well."

Meera looked to Beric and then asked "Have you ever used a mirror?"

The question brought a little smile out of Beric. He obviously knew his scars were very noticeable.

Benjen then asked "What's your name?"

The warrior then answered "Beric Dondarrion."

Benjen sighed, obviously knowing he'd have to answer at least some of their questions if only to save time. Then said "I look this way because I was killed... a White Walker stabbed me with a sword of ice, but the children of the forest brought me back. They put a dagger made of dragonglass into my heart and suddenly I could feel again."

Both Jon and Beric looked surprised, but not doubtful.

Beric looked to Benjen intensely and said "You're not some kind of Wight? Not some White Walker?"

Benjen shook his head saying "I'm still me." Beric then went silent - obviously deep in thought.

"So why did you come here?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"To save Theon, and to warn you. The White Walkers have already hit Karhold and are on their way here next, now that there's no magic stopping them." Benjen answered.

He shifted a little in his sled and asked "So how do we stop them?"

Benjen turned his head away and said "I don't know yet... but I know a good place we can start. Bran, have you been to the crypts?"

He nodded and Benjen said "And your hand?"

He then looked at his hand which still looked dry, and cracked. Almost like Greyscale, but it didn't spread. He wondered how much Benjen knew about the crypts.

Upon seeing his hand, Benjen then said "We need to go to the Godswood."

Jon then said "I'm coming with you."

Benjen shook his head saying "You need to talk to Theon, and get everyone ready to leave Winterfell. As I said, the dead are coming."

Jon was reluctant, but eventually agreed. Beric however then asked "I'm no lord here, and I have no business with the man you brought back - but I do serve the Lord of Light, I'd like to come with you to see what it is you're going to do."

Benjen frowned and said "If you must."

Beric nodded and Meera grabbed his sled and they all made their way to the Godswood. Upon their arrival, Meera set him down by the weirwood tree. He looked to Benjen and asked "What must I do?"

His uncle then bent down next to him and grabbed his wrist saying "Touch the weirwood with this hand, the same one you used in the crypts."

He didn't know what would happen, but he trusted him. He looked over to Meera, and she seemed nervous. He didn't want to admit it, but he was too. He then reached his arm out to the weirwood root, and grabbed it. Then, his vision turned to blackness - like the beginning of his visions. Then suddenly, he saw himself as a boy falling from the broken tower, then a snowy landscape and then he saw a castle made of ice with shimmering lights in the sky above it. It was all going by so quickly, he could barely understand what he was seeing. Things finally slowed down when he saw King's Landing. He was in the Great Hall of the Red Keep, and the windows were dark, and snow blowing past them.

He looked up, and the roof was gone - as snow fell down upon the Iron Throne. He then began cautiously walking toward it. As he got closer, he noticed there was something gleaming on the throne. He reached out and found a few strands of long blonde hair. After he examined it, he suddenly found himself in The Broken Tower - the same one he fell from. He looked around the room and saw his younger self next to the window, and Jaime Lannister looking in his direction - almost as if at him.

"The things I do for love." Jaime said.

And then suddenly, he was below the tower - and saw his younger self fall from it. Finally, he woke up. When his vision returned, he saw red leaves littering the ground around him. He looked up and the weirwood tree, and the branches looked dead - just like the tree from the crypts. He looked down at his right hand, and saw the cracks had gotten worse and looked even more dry. Immediately, he began feeling pain from it and grunted as the pain washed over his hand.

"Easy now." Benjen said.

"How did I do that?" He asked curiously, while trying to block out his pain.

"The crypts gave you this power. With each one of these trees you touch, you will effectively be killing it - and strengthening your own magic." Benjen told him.

 _"Magic?"_ He wondered.

"What will I do with the magic? I've only just barely been able to control my own visions with magic." He informed.

His uncle then shook his head saying "I don't have all the answers, but I know if you're to defeat the Night King - you will need magic... and a lot of it."

* * *

Samwell

* * *

Finally, they were out of the Citadel. He continuing leading Jorah through the streets of Oldtown until he was at the inn Gilly was staying in. They entered the building and thankfully there was no suspicion of their presence. He then lead Jorah to their room and went inside. Upon entering, he saw Gilly was feeding Little Sam. Gilly turned upon hearing their arrival, and stood up quickly.

"Sam, who's this?" She asked.

"Don't worry Gilly, he's a friend... of a sort." He said.

"Apologies for any disturbance." Jorah said.

He gently set Jorah down on the bed, and the old man let out a long sigh of relief.

He then asked "How are your bandages?"

"They're fine, still holding on nicely." Jorah said.

"How did you two meet?" Gilly asked.

"I'll give you the quick version. Marwyn was trying to cure his greyscale and introduced me to him. But Marwyn's dead now, and I fear we could be next." He told her truthfully.

Gilly got a worried look on her face, so he went up to her and took her hands into his saying "Don't worry, Gilly - I'll keep you and Little Sam safe."

Jorah sat himself up and said "I owe you my life, Samwell. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

He let go of Gilly and turned back to him. "Well I don't want to ask too much of you."

Jorah shook his head saying "Nonsense, the archmaester wanted to save me so I could get him a meeting with the queen - but you never asked for anything in return. Allow me to return you a favor."

He thought for a moment, and then said "How long will you stay here, Ser Jorah?"

The old man touched his arm over the maester's clothing and said "Until I'm well enough to travel, perhaps a few days? A week at most."

"Well, Ser Jorah I'm afraid we may not be able to stay here very long - not with a killer loose in the Citadel. He may want me or you, or even both of us dead. Is there anywhere safe you can go?" He asked.

Jorah nodded saying "I will be returning to Daenerys' service. If you would like, you may accompany me - I will tell her what you did for me."

He smiled a little and said "Keep the offer open, Ser Jorah. We may come with you."

He then turned to Gilly and said "Gilly, would you mind if Ser Jorah stays here for a little while to recover? I'll come check back here everyday to make sure his condition is stable, so you won't have to worry about taking care of him."

Gilly seemed troubled, but nodded and said "Alright... but promise you'll speak to me before making a decision. This effects Little Sam just as much as you and I."

"When I return, I promise I'll talk to you before considering taking us all away from here." He assured her.

He planted a kiss on her cheek and smiled before leaving the room. He needed to return to the Citadel quickly before anyone could notice he was gone - plus he needed to check up on Gendry's smithing. He walked back up the steps to the Citadel, and entered through the great doors. As he walked through the halls to get to the training courtyard, he overheard some of the maesters talking in a nearby room. Before he went to go check up on Gendry, he stopped to listen for a moment.

"So then, is it done?" He heard a man's voice asked.

There was a brief silence, and then the man said "Good." There must have been another person who nodded.

"This will require payment for the many faced god - as I'm sure you're already aware." Another man said.

"But of course. Here you are." The man said. He took a quick peek and saw it was one of the archmaesters. He didn't recognize the other person though.

The man bowed and said "A man thanks you." As if speaking about himself in the third person.

He then saw the man about to exit the room. He quickly ran over to the nearest bookshelf and began looking over them, as if he were busy. The man exited the room and walked past him without paying any attention toward him. He then turned his head and watched the man walk away from him. The man had to have been an assassin - The way the archmaester spoke to him was too incriminating.

After he found himself alone in the hallway, he casually walked with slight haste to the Citadel training yard. Upon reaching the yard, he quickly darted his eyes over to the smithing ground and saw Gendry. He immediately rushed over to him.

Gendry looked over to him and said "Samwell, I've been trying some work on your sword idea-"

"I'd love to hear it, but first you need to know. Archmaester Marwyn is dead... it sounds like some of the other archmaesters may have had him assassinated!"

Gendry looked to him with some shock asking "Assassinated? Why would they do that?"

He shook his head saying "A long story, I suspect his involvement with studying magic. If someone wanted him dead, I could be next- he was a sort of mentor to me. Did you figure out anything about the Valyrian Steel?"

"Actually... I think I may have."

The young man stepped back and opened a large pack he had set on the bench. He reached inside and pulled out a scabbard, unsheathing the sword contained within. The sword glistened and shined within the sunlight.

"I got some lava from the forge last night and cooled it into obsidian. I then heated the sword and put a drop of obsidian in and let it melt into the steel within the forge, and spent the rest of the entire night grazing the seven hells out of it. It's as sharp as can be and still has some 'dragonglass' in it - though you can't really tell just by looking at it. But feel it."

Samwell took sword from him. It felt incredibly light within his hand. The weight felt right for a Valyrian steel sword and it was certainly sharp - though it still felt like amateur work compared to the ancient blades made in Valyria.

"Well there's no way of knowing if this is the right way to make it unless we test it... I'm afraid I'm going to have to go, I can't risk end up like the archmaester - not with Jon counting on me." He informed.

Gendry spoke frustrated "Leaving? After all this hard work I spent putting the bloody thing together? What about our partnership?"

"It's not safe for me here anymore. I appreciate you sharing what knowledge and skill you have with me... you could really become a marvelous blacksmith one day studying here, I wouldn't want to force you to come with me." He said sincerely.

He had involved the young boy in much more than he ever wished he had. As far as he knew, the other archmaesters would have no reason to try and hurt Gendry - unless he involved him more in this plan to forge Valyrian steel.

Gendry wasn't having it "I've studied plenty already back in Flea Bottom and here. None of these other maesters have helped me get as close to forging Valyrian steel as you have. Re-working, sure, but never forging it."

"If you come with me, I can't promise you'll be safe." He warned.

The boy shook his head saying "I was raised in King's Landing. I know no such thing as safety."

He thought for a moment, before finally sighing. He didn't want to endanger him any further, but to resist his help was difficult. He knew the long night was coming, and this boy wanted to help.

"Grab your things, swords scabbards whatever you need. Meet me at the city gates by dusk, I'll find us a carriage." He told him before rushing off.

* * *

Jon

* * *

As everyone rode down the road, the winter was ruthless. There were hard winds and snow falling as far as the eye could see. He started to remember Eddard always said the King's road was dangerous, perhaps he meant dangerous during winter. Looking behind him, he could see thousands of Northerners following along with him. He had never seen so many people together since Mance Rayder's free folk army. Theon slowly rode up closer to him on a horse. His fist clenched at the sight of him, but he made amends before - and now was not the time to break them.

"I don't understand... Uncle Benjen... how is he alive?" He asked.

"I didn't know he was alive... he looks like one of them." Theon said, referring to the others.

"And he saved you..." He said.

Theon was silent after.

"So what happened? Did you save Daenerys' fleet?" He asked.

"Some of it... Euron was there... and those things." Theon said fearfully.

He sighed a little. He could tell Theon wasn't comfortable talking about it. He wanted to ask him more, but he knew he'd little more out of him.

"I'm sorry Theon..." He forced himself to say.

The Greyjoy looked to him strangely and asked "For what?"

"It must've been hard for you. Getting back here even with Benjen's help... fighting the White Walkers... you had no idea what you were getting into. I should've gone with you, if only for a chance to try and kill the Night King." He said as sincerely as he could.

"I saw their army... staying was the right thing. Had you not stayed to convince everyone to leave... I... we'd be one of them now." Theon said shakily.

A silence fell between them for a moment.

"Do you think we can win...?" Theon said, breaking the silence.

He had been puzzling that question himself. The Wall was a game changer, but without it... nothing would be as strong against them.

"I don't know, but we're not gonna make it easy for them. If the entire population of Westeros were to band together we'd outnumber them by millions... but I know they're not ready." He said somber.

Theon paused for a moment saying "I broke my oath to Robb Stark... I didn't think he could win..."

"Aye..." He said wondering what the point of bringing that up was.

"I know nothing I can say will ever make things right between us... but I won't betray you again." Theon told him.

He paused for a moment before saying "I know."

Theon began slowing down and falling behind once again. It was now just him and the snowfall. He continued travelling without another word.

* * *

Sansa

* * *

She never had to spend any time in the Black Cells before, though she preferred it here more than the rooms in the Red Keep. There was no lies here - She was a prisoner, the room made it very clear. She spited herself for letting Littlefinger get that close to her, how could she believe he'd ever want to help her when she had her locked up in the Eyrie less than a month ago. No, she knew he'd betray her - she just didn't think it would happen so quickly. After a while of silence, she heard footsteps approach her cell. Probably Cersei come to torture her... nothing she could do would be any worse than what Ramsay had done. She then heard footsteps walk away from her cell... then the door unlocking.

She kept her head facing the wall, refusing to face her. The door opened and she stepped in and the door shut after. She expected some cruel opening words, though to her surprise - she heard a man's voice.

"Sansa." Petyr said.

She clenched her hand into a fist, her nails digging into the palms, her hands turning red. She wanted to tear his eyes out right now. She stood herself up and looked at him. Looking at the monster that stood before her.

"How are you? I hope Cersei hasn't been too cruel with you." He said sympathetic, that false sympathy he always gave.

"I should've killed you... I should've had Jon behead you in front of the great hall and feed your body to Ramsay's hounds!"

He took a step back saying "I understand that you're angry, please let me to explain-"

"I don't want your 'explanations' your lies, your treachery, your bullshit!" She yelled.

She went to hit him, however he grabbed her hand and said "Just listen to me for five minutes and if you still want to hit me I won't stop you."

She didn't care what he said he was a liar. She stepped back for now however, if only to laugh at whatever excuse he came up with.

"First off, I'm sorry about Edmure. He was your family and I promised not to hurt your family-"

"Promises haven't stopped you before, don't pretend to be sorry or to care." She said angrily.

"I never wanted him dead, Sansa-"

"I doubt you cared for him alive either!" She shouted.

"I had to make a change of plan, Sansa. I didn't know Cersei had gone to Casterly Rock." Petyr said desperately.

"What are you talking about!?" She asked, still furious with him.

Petyr stepped forward saying "I planted a spy in Jaime's Lannister army when we visited. I got a letter from Casterly Rock that Cersei had come there in the hopes to capture her brother. She must've been disappointed when she found Dorna instead. What she wasn't disappointed of however, was Dorna spilling the secrets of our whereabouts."

"I'm sure that was your plan all along, get Cersei to find us-"

"I never planned on Cersei finding us. What I told you was the truth." Petyr quickly said.

"So instead you've sided with her because she surprised you? No one surprises you."

Petyr gave a light smile saying "I'll try to take that as a compliment, though I only found out she would find us after she arrived at Casterly Rock. Once she was on our trail, I met with one of her Lannister soldiers and promised to open the gate in return for a request not to kill you upon sight, and for a meeting with the queen."

Littlefinger paced, continuing, "After meeting with her, I convinced her that everything I had done for you was a trap to lead you to her-"

"Which it was!" She shouted.

"It wasn't. I told her to use you as a hostage to convince Jon Snow to betray Daenerys Targaryen in return for your freedom." Petyr said.

She had almost forgotten Jon's alliance with the Targaryen after all the chaos that had taken place. She wondered how much Jon could really trust a Targaryen.

"Jon would never break an oath and would never bend the knee to Cersei." She said.

"I know that. But now I have gained Cersei's trust. We can take her down from the inside. In hindsight, it was hopeful at best that Jaime's army and the Knights of the Vale could have laid siege to King's Landing and a bunch of Dothraki versus a castle? Dothraki have never seen stones stacked so high." He told her.

She scoffed saying "Hard to do that inside of a cell."

"I smuggled you out of King's Landing before haven't I? A cell is merely a wall made of sand. And sand can be dug." He said with a smirk.

She didn't want to believe him.

"No... you betrayed me. You killed Edmure." She said angrily.

"Cersei killed Edmure." He said back.

"You helped Cersei..." She said quieter.

"Who do you think I want on the Iron Throne?" Petyr asked.

"Cersei!" She said, anger building back up.

"And why would I want her on the Iron Throne?" He questioned.

Despite everything she hated him for, everything he had done to her, she still couldn't tell why he would side with her. Petyr was- is, in love with her, not Cersei. She would understand if it was out of self preservation at the time, but he's done plenty of stupid things out of his own interest just to win her favor.

"You... want to be on the throne..." She said.

"Us, Sansa. The two of us could rule the seven kingdoms side by side. We're closer to Cersei than we've ever been. This is exactly where we need to be.

"I can't do anything from a cell." She said.

"There are a great many things you can do, but the first is not having Cersei kill you. I've kept her from killing you by reasoning with her so far, but should she change her mind - demand a trial for Joffrey's murder and let it play out." He told her.

"She'll find me guilty - she won't find me anything else!" She said hysterically, like it was some poor joke.

"You didn't kill Joffrey... remember that and that is all you will need to know." He said seriously, staring into her eyes.

She fell silent, trying to figure out what he meant.

"You've learned how to play hostage well, but always remember you hold the cards - otherwise you'll fall into the belief of your own captivity. You can leave this cell at any time." He told her.

"I can't, the guards have the door-"

"Sansa, repeat after me; 'I can leave this cell at any time, I am the one holding the cards.'" Littlefinger said.

She paused for a moment... then said the same back.

Petyr stepped closer and grabbed her hand, placing it into his - then saying "Be brave, Sansa. I will come check on you again when it is safe for me to."

Afterward he let go and turned back, opening the door to the cell - revealing there were no guards there. He must have bribed or blackmailed them to leave for the time. After he was gone she slumped down, back pressed against the wall of the cell. He left her with a lot to think about.

* * *

Brienne

* * *

Nightfall had come, and people were setting up camps along the King's road to sleep in. She sat down warming up in front of a campfire with Podrick next to her.

"Has the Hound seen you yet?" Pod asked.

She sighed saying "Not yet... though the longer Jon allows this 'brotherhood without banners' to travel with us I fear it may only be a matter of time... it was a miracle they weren't allowed to come in the great hall during the gathering simply due to overcrowding."

Podrick was silent for a moment, then said "That's... good... I guess."

The Hound was the least of her problems right now. Apparently it was showing visibly, as Podrick was staring at her.

"Is there something else bothering you M'lady?" He asked innocently.

"I swore an oath to keep Sansa safe and now she's with Littlefinger again. And Jon's acting like she's not his concern anymore." She said frustrated.

Podrick thought for a moment, then said "Why don't you go talk to him about it?"

"Do you think he'll listen?" She asked.

Podrick nodded saying "Sansa trusted you and Jon trusts her, I don't see why not."

She sighed and stood up.

"Stay here, Pod." She said as she began walking through the encampment.

As she was walking past tents, the man with the red beard turned the corner and almost ran into her. She immediately felt disgust rising within her, though tried to be polite and hide it.

He smiled a little and said "Looking for my tent already? That's very forward... I like women who are forward."

She hurried past him as quickly as she could, not wanting to be anywhere near him. Soon enough, she got to Jon's tent and entered. Jon was seated in a chair with his hand over his forehead looking over the maps of the King's road. He was visibly stressed.

"Jon Snow?" She said, announcing herself to him.

Jon turned his head up and stood saying "Lady Brienne, how can I help you?"

She had no more patience, she needed to get straight to the point.

"We need to talk about Sansa." She said seriously.

He sighed and his head fell lower.

"From what we know, Littlefinger has her - and the last-"

"I can't go and get her." Jon stated strongly.

She looked at him like she couldn't believe what he just said. How could he be so heartless?

"Why not!?" She asked.

Jon shook his head saying "I had to make a choice back at The Wall. Either ride south to come back for her, or stay and defend it - and we both know the dead are the true threat."

"What's left to save if everyone's sacrificed all they have?" She said, frustration building up.

"It's not easy knowing my sister is out there somewhere with him. I know what he's capable of I just... I thought he wouldn't betray us so soon after helping us against Ramsay." Jon said defending himself.

"After everything Tyrion said back in the great hall, about caring for family - was any of that true?" She questioned.

"Of course it was!" Jon answered defensively.

She paused for a moment and looked at him. "Then how can you justify leaving Sansa, your family, in danger with Baelish?"

Jon looked at her and stepped around the table closer to her, she hoped it would be enough to move him.

"I swore an oath to guard the realms of men-"

"And I swore to take care of Lady Catelyn's children!" She interjected.

"The entire North and South will die if Daenerys and I cannot find a way to beat the White Walkers! This is the greater good and I cannot break that oath, not even for family. Could you?" Jon spat back.

She then recalled Jaime telling her why he broke his oath.

She paused before saying "For family... I would."

Jon was about to speak again, but she heard enough. Jon wasn't going to be swayed from his conviction. She turned and left the tent. After walking out into the bitter cold, she went back to her campsite. Pod was eating what was hopefully, a cooked rabbit leg. She knew good food was scarce during the winter.

"Enough eating pod, get on your horse - we're leaving." She told him.

Podrick dropped his food and stood up with a smile saying "Leaving? So you did get him to agree?"

She stayed silent, not wishing to talk about the conversation. If Jon wouldn't save her, then she would. Podrick got on his horse and she gave a swift kick to hers - as together they rode out into the cold night.

* * *

Arya

* * *

Walking through the open plains at night was dangerous, anything could be out there - but it was more important they get to Winterfell quickly. The longer Cersei had Sansa, the less likely they'd get her back alive.

"Can't we just set up a camp for the night at least? We're fumbling in the darkness" The Kingslayer complained.

"Be quiet before an animal or whatever horrible things start to hear you and we're both dead." She told him.

After passing by a hill, she spotted a small village lighting up the night. Apparently the Lannister saw it too.

"How about we go there and spend a night? There's got to be an inn or something." Jaime said.

"If they're loyal to Cersei- which most of this region is right now and they find the Kingslayer strolling into their house, how long before you think Cersei marches right back up to finish the job in our sleep?" She asked fiercely.

"You said it yourself, animals and horrible things could kill us out here. I managed to stroll right into King's Landing after Lady Catelyn let me go and no one even recognized me." He said intent on getting inside.

She wasn't one to give up, however, deep down she didn't want to camp out in the night either - and she had no tents to set up. She looked at him and noticed his bright golden hand.

She took off her gloves and said "If we're going in there, then you cover up that hand - otherwise you might as well stroll in with a bright red Lannister cloak."

The Kingslayer gave her a look, then took the gloves and slipped them on. They were a bit tight for his hands, but he had to make it work. Together they approached the village. There were stables with horses sleeping for the night and some light shining through windows of houses. It was about the only light which illuminated the darkness. The two of them walked side by side until she just about made out a glimpse of a sign. It was dark, but she managed to see just enough light to read 'Lonely Home Inn.'

The whole village was rather lonely in her opinion. Inside there were sounds of some singing and laughter which grabbed her attention. Perhaps the joy of everyone else would be enough to distract anyone from remembering their faces... faces...

She halted that train of thought and said "Come, we'll see if we can afford their pricing... and let me do the talking, you keep your head down or We'll both wish I let you drown in that river."

Jaime nodded and followed her lead. She might as well have been leading him like a dog. Opening the door, there was a strong smell of ale and wine that hit her almost immediately. Her eyes scanning over the room, there were many men walking around and drinking as they went - not what she was looking for. She walked past some, looking back every now and again to make sure the Lannister wasn't arousing suspicion. Looking through the crowds, she found what seemed to be the registry desk for guests - though it was built more like a bar and being used much more to serve drinks than anything. She stepped up to it and looked at the attendant, attempting to grab his attention.

Soon enough, he came over and said "What can I get you little lady?"

"Do you rent rooms here?"

He nodded saying "Aye, twenty coins for a night."

She reached into her pockets and felt a pouch of gold she recalled having taken from the Freys after she killed Walder. She pulled it out and slid it across to the attendant. After a few moments, the attendant took the gold and handed her a key. She took it and then turned back only to have lost sight of the Lannister.

 _"Shit... you couldn't have just waited one minute?"_ She thought to herself.

She walked around the inn, cautiously checking faces to see which man was him. Soon enough, she saw from behind a man wearing clothing similar to what Jaime was wearing talking to someone. She quickly approached and turned him around, revealing it was him.

The other man said "This is your traveling companion? HA! I would've thought she'd be your daughter by how young she is."

She ignored him, instead sternly saying to Jaime "Time for us to go."

"This man goes by the name Eyan of the Blue Fork, he could help us." The Kingslayer added.

"Are you mad?" She asked.

The Lannister was playing a dangerous game, this man was a complete stranger to the both of them.

The man put on a grin saying "Aye, Jon here was just telling me about his ill mother. I'd be more than 'appy to take you both by carriage to Winterfell, making a trip up there myself anyway to give some food to the people of Cerwyn some freshly grown vegetables before Winter gets too rough for travel anymore."

 _"Jon? That's the fake name he chose?"_ She thought to herself.

"Thank you for the offer, but we can get there ourselves." She told him.

Eyan shook his head saying "I insist. Travelin' on foot during winter is most dangerous, you two don't even have horses."

'Jon' looked to her with an approving look. Being a Lannister he must've never truly gotten out into the world to realize how dangerous it is to trust strangers, or he simply wasn't strong enough to handle the terrain they were traveling at the pace she made them go. More and more he seemed like a burden to her than any real help.

"Thanks, but we'll pass." She said as she grabbed Jaime and began pulling him away.

Eyan shrugged and said "'lright, but if you two change your minds, I'll be by the stables."

Afterward the two of them went to their room together. Once inside, she shut the door and locked it, then turned to Jaime.

"Have you lost all sense!?" She shouted.

All the drinking, singing and talking would drown out their argument - she could be as loud as she wished.

"You said it yourself, the longer Sansa is in Cersei's care the less likely we get her back alive. If we hop aboard a carriage we can double our time to Winterfell and warn your brother sooner - even if we stay off the Kingsroad." He said defensively.

"Or you're wrong and he breaks down our door to come slit our throats in our sleep because he wants a fat pouch of gold from the queen!" She said angrily.

"He has no idea who I am, trust me." He assured.

That was almost the funniest joke she had ever heard.

"Trust a Lannister?" She said hysterically.

That made Jaime pause in silence for a moment. Perhaps now she hurt his feelings if he had any left. Jaime went and sat down in a chair placed in the corner of the room. She began to wonder if Sansa really wanted him alive anymore. How was she able to tolerate being face to face with him? A Lannister. One of the very men who harmed their family so much. She considered whether or not she should add his name to her list... she could decide later. She crawled into the bed of the room while Jaime stayed in the chair.

Before she would let herself rest, she spoke the names.

"Beric Dondarrion, Cersei Lannister, Ilyn Payne, Melisandre, The Mountain, Thoros of Myr."

* * *

 _ **Apologies for taking such a long break. I'll try not to again. 'I was born to finish this story and I will' haha. Also, I've been looking for a co-writer to assist in helping me with future storylines (and perhaps to keep me from forgetting about this one) so if anyone would like to be a co-writer for my story or perhaps another - feel free to message me. It helps to bounce ideas off of someone else from time to time. Not to mention I'd also like to work on other stories as well as this one, so I could be a co-writer for someone else.**_

 _ **That being said, that does not mean I will sacrifice the quality of this story for a co-writer. If people would rather my unfiltered work, so be it. After seeing season 7 and how David and Dan messed it up and those two are co-writers, I could see why people would fear co-written stories now.**_


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